


About Wolves and Snakes

by OhMyLeg



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bottom Severus Snape, First Everything, First Kiss, First Time, Hogwarts Fifth Year, M/M, Marauders' Era
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2019-09-17 23:28:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16983855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhMyLeg/pseuds/OhMyLeg
Summary: "Remus didn't know exactly what led him to do something this time, but remembering that he had never done anything for Snape to pay for the various wolfsbane potions he had done for him, he casted an "expelliarmus" before he could realize what he was doing and took James' wand."OrRemus Lupin woke up being fifteen years old again, having no idea how or why.Upon learning that he could not return, he decided that he would try to change the way things happened.(HIATUS)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language, so I'm sorry about any mistakes.  
> (this fic is completely au and trashy as fuck)

Everything went black and Lupin felt as if he'd gotten a shock, the last thing he remembered was a flash and the turmoil in hogwarts with Voldemort's approach. He felt his muscles ache as if he had struggled too hard, so he avoided moving for a moment, allowing himself a moment's rest, as if nothing else mattered, until a pillow was thrown across his face and he stood up abruptly, suddenly remembering that he was supposed to be in the middle of a war.

Remus stood with his wand in his hand, pointing it around, ready to attack, but then realized... a _pillow_? he glanced sideways at a familiar laugh and saw James Potter, James Potter himself, and he frowned in confusion as he saw his old friend laughing in his bed at Gryffindor's dormitory. 

"Had a nightmare, Moony?" Another familiar voice joked and he turned to face Sirius Black several years younger "That was an overreaction, don't you think?" another laugh, a little more restrained made Remus turn to find Peter Pettigrew.

If Remus had not been so confused by what the hell was going on, he would have been furious to see the traitor Pettigrew laughing with his best friends. James seemed to notice that Remus was tense and confused as he stood up and approached, his smile faltering.

"Are you okay, man?" This caught the attention of Sirius, who stared at his friend with a concerned expression.

"There's still plenty left for the full moon..." Sirius commented, confused by Remus' strange behavior.

"I..." Lupin said and his voice sounded different, but he decided to ignore "I'm fine." He tried to smile at his friends and James gave him a light slap on the shoulder before return to his own bed. Looking around again, Remus let himself smile at the red-and-gold decorated walls... he had missed the place.

"He may be nervous because of the O.W.Ls," Pettigrew said with his little voice that only made Remus angry, Sirius snorted.

"Are you serious? our Moony worried about tests? He doesn't spend all day with his nose buried in books for nothing." James laughed with his friend again. Remus found himself staring at both James and Sirius... he had missed them so much.

He wanted to understand why he was in hogwarts - _as a student_ \- with his old friends... maybe he was dead? and Pettigrew talked about O.W.L, so he must be in fifth year, but why?... Remus was very confused, but he had missed his friends so much that he could ignore this confusion by the nostalgia he was feeling. It was better than a war, after all.

starting to change from his sleeping clothes, he found himself in a mirror. He was a little surprised by seeing himself as his version of 15 or 16 years, he already had scars on his face and the dark circles under his eyes were very visible, but he was healthier than in his day. He allowed himself another smile. Maybe he was dead or maybe it was a dream, but he didn't know how to fix the situation, so he simply decided to relive his precious memories with the marauders.

 

Remus had decided to live the day as his teenage self, but that did not stop him from having resentments with Pettigrew and his friends seemed to notice the cold way he talked to the other boy, he didn't call him Wormtail or even Peter, treating him like the intruder he was, and trying to avoid him to the maximum to prevent himself from hexing him.

Sirius pulled him aside and questioned him about this sudden change in behavior with one of the marauders, trying to convince him that the four were always best friends and it was confusing... and Pettigrew was _upset_ , but Remus could not look at Pettigrew's face and not to be disgusted, he was even surprised that he still had control and didn't even hit him yet.

O.W.L.'s time came and they entered the great hall, where the large house tables had been removed and there were several desks in the place, they quickly chose where to sit while the place began to fill with nervous students.

Remus could not even believe how easy the test was, which involved even werewolves, he briefly remembered this, but very little since his head was full of anguish at the war that had been going on. He finished the test and turned to look at James, who was scribbling something on his parchment and Sirius, who leaned back in his chair, not even noticing the girl giving long dreamy sighs behind him.

Watching the room for a moment, trying to avoid looking at pettigrew but still see everyone around him, Remus saw Snape a few desks ahead, concentrated on his parchment. It was strange to see him so shrunken, remembering how the adult Snape stood tall. He was grateful for the man, who continued to make his wolfsbane potion even while hating him... maybe he could convince him to do that now while he couldn't find a way back to his own time.

Suddenly, Flitwick's voice caught the attention of all the students and, with an " _accio_ ," called all the students' parchments, dispensing them from the classroom. The students followed in groups to the exit. Sirius made some joke about the test talking about werewolves and made a comment that made Remus feel offended when he said he was looking forward to the full moon, but Lupin decided to ignore it.

They moved closer to the lake and sat on the lawn, Lupin always felt calm near the lake, so he took in the fresh air for a moment, while James played with a snitch, glancing at the girls across the lake, until Sirius complained and he put the small gold object in his pocket.

Remus felt too nostalgic and it was such a nice feeling that he simply enjoyed the feeling until James nudged all the boys.

"Look who it is," he said in a lively whisper, Sirius smiled and then Remus turned to see that they had stood up and headed toward Snape "Snivellus!" Remus barely remembered what had happened, but he knew it was a bad thing, for he had been reading a book quiet in his corner, when it happened in the first time he remembered seeing his hands shake holding the book as he heard laughter.

For some reason, he did not want to stand still this time, so he approached his friends, Pettigrew still sat next to the tree.

Remus walked past the crowd that was already forming around and the scene left Remus in shock. He remembered that Sirius and James always pulled pranks on Snape, but that was surreal. Snape was on the ground, trapped with a spell, shouting curses and threats at Sirius and James, but he looked completely desperate. James commented on his "dirty mouth" and with a flick of his wand, soap started to come out of the Snape's mouth, making him choke.

Lily tried to interrupt them, but James simply flirted with her and lifted Snape upside down, everyone could see his underwear, everybody laughed. To Remus's surprise, Lily's face twitched into a quick smile, but she still tried to stop them.

Remus didn't know exactly what led him to do this, but remembering that he had never done anything for Snape to pay for the various wolfsbane potions he had done for him, he casted an " _expelliarmus_ " before he could realize what he was doing and took James' wand.

Everyone turned to face him, Snape fell to the ground with a thud and James gave Remus a crooked smile.

"Give it back, Moony," James said, thinking it was some kind of joke.

"No," he replied and both James and Sirius raised their eyebrows at him, surprised. "That's wrong, that's... terrible." He frowned and spoke more to himself than to the others. "I can not believe I never interrupted before...".

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked, looking slightly irritated. Remus wouldn't answer until he saw Snape slowly standing up, thinner and paler than he remembered, his face red with rage and embarrassment, his mouth still soapy, and his tear-filled eyes... it was no wonder that Snape had become such an awful, suspicious adult.

"stopping you" Remus said "What did he do against you?"

"It's more the fact that he exists," James teased and there were laughter from the students around them.

Remus's face contorted with some disgust and he simply threw James's wand back at him, and the Potter tried to point it at Snape again, but Remus helped the Slytherin. Snape reluctantly accepted the help and, before accompanying him to the infirmary, Remus gave a disapproving glance to his friends.

"What's his problem today?" He heard James comment.

 

"Let me go!" Snape pushed him as they entered the castle, leaning against the wall and breathing quickly, he looked like he was going to have a panic attack.

"Let me help you to-"

"I do not need _your_ help!" Snape said, pulling away quickly, but Remus approached again, holding his arm "Please..." if Lupin did not know Snape, he would have thought he was crying, but the other remained with his back turned to him "Just leave me alone..." the boy's voice was shaky and Remus released his wrist, even though he thought he _should_ go to the infirmary.

"I'm sorry," Remus said. Lupin looked at the other boy and felt miserable, regardless of his concern about losing his friends, he should not have accepted their behavior.

He didn't know why he was 15 again, but he knew he would _not_ let it all happen again like it did the first time.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the bad english! I'm trying :S

When he returned to the common room that night, his friends went silent and stared at him for a brief moment, looking at each other as Remus simply approached. They hadn't talked much during classes, and in his free time Remus stayed in the library, wanting to stay away from everyone and think a little, trying to understand his situation.

"Why did you do that?" Sirius broke the silence, staring at him with an arched eyebrow, Remus was a bit relieved to see that he didn't look angry, but he seemed confused "We were having fun with Snivellus."

"Didn't look like he was having fun," Lupin said quietly, and Sirius laughed.

"You've never cared before" James said with a little more aggressiveness than he intended and Remus frowned, but didn't respond, feeling horrible at the fact that it was true.

"Enough, Prongs," Sirius said, trying to soften the tense mood. "Moony never liked our pranks and was stressed."

Remus kept quiet as he climbed the stairs to their dormitory, and the conversation of the other boys began to flow normally. James was talking about Lily and Sirius toyed with the fact that he didn't have a chance with the girl, getting a pillow in the face and giggles from Wormtail.

Remus ignored them as they tried to call him, going to bed early and closing the curtains of the bed. He could hear James and Peter talking about his strange attitudes while Sirius tried to see the bright side.

When morning came, Lupin had a little hope of being back to his real time... not that he wanted to be in the war again, but the situation was just too confusing. Remus thought about talking to Dumbledore about it, but he wasn't sure if he should. When he found himself again in Gryffindor's dormitory, he thought seriously of continuing to sleep, but he knew better than to do that.

James woke up when Remus was already wearing his robes and greeted him sleepily, reaching for his glasses and waking up Peter, who tried to wake up Sirius, who took so long to get up that he got them late for Slughorn's potions class.

They ran to the classroom in the dungeons, Filch tried to stop them in the hallway, but they simply continued until they reached the room. James laughed when they nearly knocked the man down. Remus smiled, he'd missed this kind of teenage bullshit theyused to do.

Opening the door, all the students turned to face the four boys and the professor stopped talking, holding an ingredient on top of the cauldron. He waited for them to sit down, Remus saw James elbowing Sirius and pointing at Snape - who didn't have a partner - and whispered, but before either of them could do anything, Remus sat next to the Slytherin, but he didn't even turned to look at him .

Remus knew that Snape was great at potions, it was no wonder that he had become the hogwarts potion master in the future, but whenever one of the marauders sat next to him, his potion went wrong and everyone laughed at him. Lupin looked back and saw James look disappointed, but smiled when he sat down next to Lily - Remus didn't understand why she hadn't a partner since her friends were in the class - while Sirius and Peter sat together behind Remus. Sirius gave him an annoyed look, knowing that Peter was a terrible potions partner and Remus smiled at him.

"Glad you could join us, boys," Slugorn said with a smile. "We were brewing a draught of peace..." He started explaining the potion again.

Remus took the potions book from his backpack and found the ingredients to prepare it. As the period was almost over, he glanced at Snape's turquoise-blue potion and wondered what he was doing wrong, for his was a kind of orange.

"You should have added powdered porcupine quills until the potion turned white, stirring." Snape's voice was so low that Remus barely heard it. Lupin turned to look at him, but the other didn't take his eyes off his own potion.

"Can you fix it?" He asked and Snape paused for a moment, as if considering the idea of helping him, and then turned his eyes to Lupin's potion.

"The potion needs to be stirred 7 times, both clockwise and counter-clockwise" He said "lower the heat and add 9 drops of hellebore."

"The book says 7 drops..." He said, but Snape simply shrugged.

Remus nodded and did exactly what he said, the potion was not perfect, but it was much better than before and, looking around, he saw that their potions were the closest to the right color... that is, Snape's was exactly the right color.

"Thank you," Remus said and tried to smile at the boy, who looked at him for a brief moment before turning his face and letting his hair fall like a curtain over his face.

There was a squeal from the back table, and everyone turned to see sparks coming out of Pettigrew's cauldron. Professor Slughorn had to prevent his potion from exploding, which elicited laughter from several students.

The class was soon over, and Slughorn praised Lily's potion and probably would have praised Snape's if he hadn't left the room so quickly. Lily smiled a lot as the teacher flattered her, James stared at the girl for a brief moment before going out with the other marauders.

"I can not believe you let me pair with Wormtail!" Sirius said to Remus, laughing at Peter's face when he said this "He almost blew us up."

"Why did you sit next to that slimy git, moony?" James asked, arching his eyebrow. "For a moment I thought he was going to poison you," he laughed with the other three.

"He actually helped me," Remus said. "My potion might have been the same as Pettigrew's if he had not corrected me."

"You missed a wonderful opportunity" James complained and Remus grimaced.

"You know I do not do that." James simply shrugged.

"We'll have time to get him later," James said and Remus felt his stomach turn unpleasantly.

 

Another day passed and they were near the lake again, Remus was reading a book while Sirius and Peter were throwing pebbles into the lake. James was sitting next to him and everything was so calm and Remus had been so sorry he did not have to worry about a war. He saw his friend move on his side and turned to see him looking at the map they made...

James was smiling looking at the name Lily Evans, who was in the library and then saw the name Severus Snape and his smile disappeared. Snape was also in the library.

"I'm going to the library," James said suddenly.

 

"Severus." The voice made the boy pause on his way out of the library, even though he was not in the mood to deal with Lily at the moment. She approached anyway "Are you okay?"

He wanted to laugh. Of course he _wasn't_. He could not tell if she was being sincere, after she became so popular and began to ignore him, even if unconsciously, he could not trust her like before... and he couldn't pretend that he didn't see her smiling that day, no matter how important their friendship was to him.

"Yes," he said simply.

"Are you sure?" She asked with a sad smile "James was very cruel..."

"Yes" He answered and saw Avery and Mulciber, greeting them as they passed. Severus noticed the looks the girl threw at the Slytherins, who responded in the same intensity.

"I told you not to get involved with these two," Lily said angrily and Snape almost laughed again. Was she the only friend he could have? _a friend who never raised a finger when her little Gryffindor friends made his life hell, even having the authority to stop them_. A bitter part of him thought. _But she tried... one time._

"So I can't have any friends other than you?" He asked before he could stop himself. She opened her mouth and closed it again, thinking for a moment.

"That's not what I meant..." Lily said, but Snape was annoyed.

"What did you mean?" He asked, "Have you seen how they look at me, Lily? Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, _Gryffindors_ and even Slytherins! It's not because YOU can have all the friends you want, that everyone can!" Snape took a deep breath, noticing that some of his classmates were staring and turned away from the girl, facing James Potter and Remus Lupin. he felt his breath fail.

"Snivellus!" Snape tried to convince himself that Potter could _not_ use magic inside the library... not that it had stopped him before. James prodded Remus playfully and hurried to accompany Severus, who continued walking to the exit "Long time no see! it seems that we have not seen each other for centuries"

Remus watched them for a moment before turning to look at Lily, who had both and angry and upset expression. He decided to follow James before he did anything.

"Did you enjoy our joke?" James asked.

 When the Slytherin did not respond, James made the boy drop his books on the floor, causing Snape to stop and stare at him with disgust, James smiled at him.

"I see you have not washed your hair yet," he said, reaching for the other boy's hair, who turned his face away and bent down to pick up his books from the floor, but James put his foot on top of them "And still worthless. Tell me, do you already have your nasty dark mark?"

"Enough, James," Remus said, but the other did not seem to notice him, Snape was still kneeling, trying to pull his books from under Potter's foot.

"Maybe not even You-Know-Who wants you around, you know?" He laughed "I know your family doesn't, after all, who the hell spends every holiday at school?"

"For someone so self-confident, you spend a lot of time paying attention to someone _worthless_ like me, don't you?" Snape said, his voice low and Remus saw James's face turn red with anger, but he took his arm before he did anything.

"James!" Remus almost screamed and his friend finally looked at him and took a deep breath. Remus whispered to him, "That's cruel and unnecessary!"

"It's just a joke, Moony"

"I'll take house points if you continue," Remus warned after a hesitant pause, seeing that he wouldn't notice that it was not _just_ joke even to him, he was fooling himself. Remus turned away from his friend and helped Snape, who was trying to pick up the books as quickly as possible, as if he wanted to disappear in the time they were distracted.

James stared at them for a moment before snorting and pulling away, pushing a random Slytherin in his way.

Helping Snape to collect the books, Remus noticed that the other boy's hands were shaking slightly, until the Slytherin paused.

"Why... why you did that?" Snape asked, frowning "I do not understand... why are you helping me? What do you want?"

"The way they treat you is wrong and-"

"You didn't care before," Snape interrupted, repeating James's phrase and Remus nodded sadly.

"Yeah..." Lupin handed the rest of the books to the other boy, who stared at him confused "And I don't want anything, you don't owe me anything"

"Lie." Snape said, looking down at his feet. "Everyone wants something."

"Would you feel better if I asked you for something?" Remus asked sincerely.

"I don't want to _owe_ you anything," he said simply, but he seemed to fear what Remus was going to say.

"Okay ..." Remus said for lack of choice, didn't want Snape to think he owed him anything, then asked for the simplest thing he could think "Just help me with potions."

Snape paused again, as if considering the idea.

"Just that?" Remus nodded. "Okay..." He said, staring at Lupin with a frown.

Snape kept walking to the dungeons, occasionally glancing over his shoulder to make sure everything was not a big joke on him. He could admit that Remus Lupin was the only marauder who had never really done anything against him, but he had never done anything for or prevented his friends as they made his life hell on earth - almost like Lily -... until now.

He was confused, but if the boy wanted to learn potions, he could teach him in exchange for some peace in the hallways of hogwarts. Maybe Lupin was feeling guilty...

Severus ignored the stares of the other Slytherins as he entered the common room. They didn't like him very much because he was half-blooded, was poor and lived with his muggle father... he was already used to the nasty looks and words, so he managed to ignore them until he entered his room, even if the new comments about his underwear, or his parts still hurt him by reminding him of the humiliating moment.

Snape couldn't sleep, he knew it could be a "prank", but he also couldn't figure out if his life could get worse, so he had nothing to lose... he had Lily, but she did not even seem to notice him after becoming so popular, he didn't knew if he could still consider her his friend.

He sat up, hugging his own legs, he really wished it wasn't a prank... he did not think he could take another one so soon.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about my bad english :(

In Slughorn's potions class of the next day, even if Severus was waiting for the other boy to appear, he still flinched when Remus sat next to him. Remus pretended not to notice so as not to make the mood even more ankward than it already was. Snape had several books on the table and the other boy glanced briefly at the pile.

Since Snape had agreed to help him with potions, he had an excuse to sit next to him and prevent his friends from doing anything against the boy. James had said that Remus didn't need help with any subjects, but Remus practically ignored his old friend.

James passed by the werewolf with an angry look and sat down next to Lily again, whose friend had just given her seat to James - and if Remus were honest with himself, he doubted the girl had a choice when James Potter approached.

Remus knew that James was upset with him and he felt really bad about upsetting a friend he missed so much, but with his more mature mind, he knew that James's actions couldn't be considered just jokes and pranks as they were getting each worse, especially with Snape...

James had begun to avoid Remus little by little and Pettigrew - who was already quite nervous in front of Lupin - followed in the footsteps of his friend and ignored him, but Sirius always tried to include him in everything, no matter how much he received James' reproachful looks.

"Problems in paradise?" Severus asked as he noted that Potter's disgusted eyes weren't for him but for his potions partner.

"That's far from paradise for me," Remus said with a smile, but Snape simply turned back to the book in his hand, Remus was almost sure he saw Snape's lips curl briefly.

Slughorn didn't take long to arrive and took even less time to start explaining the potion of the day, he made it clear that they had to try hard this time and then started walking around the room, looking at the cauldrons and ingredients of the students as they prepared.

Snape did everything very quickly, his hands acting as if he didn't even need to think before acting, Remus was trying to keep up with him, but ended up getting lost after a short time, deciding only to watch his partner. After a few minutes, Severus stepped away from his cauldron and turned to Lupin, arching his eyebrow as he stared at him.

"I think I need a little help." Remus grinned and Snape rolled his eyes, picking out an ingredient and showing him how to cut it.

After a few minutes he seemed impatient with the way Lupin was doing it, leaning closer and showing the right way to do it before abruptly pulling away, as if only then he had noticed that he had invaded the other boy's personal space.

"Careful, Moony, we don't know what kind of contagious disease he might have," James said and some students laughed, others seemed too distracted by their activities to bother, but Snape tensed and his face was red.

"Don't mind him," Remus said, casting a reproving glance at James, trying to comfort his colleague.

"I don't need and don't want your pity, Lupin," Snape said aggressively. "I'll help you with the potions, but we're not friends and I don't want to hear your voice, so stop trying to talk to me."

"Okay," Remus said, and Snape noticed the intonation of regret in his voice.

They continued to prepare the potion in an uncomfortable silence.

At the end of class, Remus thanked the Slytherin, who simply walked away without another word. The rest of the classes went by very fast, James continued to cast angry glances at Lupin, who tried to talk to him from time to time, being ignored or receiving monosyllabic answers every time.

At night, Remus left the common room to make his rounds as a Gryffindor prefect. The atmosphere was so tense among the marauders that Remus felt relieved to be a prefect and to be able to walk through hogwarts' halls without any kind of concern, so he could think quietly about how to solve his problem with his friends.

He wasn't paying any attention to where he was going and was startled for a moment when he felt a hand on his shoulder, turning to find Lily Evans with a nervous smile. Remus quickly composed himself and greeted the girl.

"Can I talk to you?" She asked and the werewolf nodded, and then they started to walk down the corridors side by side for a moment before she spoke again "It's about Severus..."

Lupin had no idea what she wanted to say, but he let her continue.

"He's been distant for some time, walking with those dangerous Slytherins..." Lily said and turned to face him. "He's kind of upset with me and I can't even talk to him by myself, but I saw him talking to you today early..."

"He was just helping me with potions..." Remus said and she just smiled.

"It doesn't matter" She said "But he needs better friends than Mulciber and I can't talk to him."

"why?"

She hesitated and had the decency to look embarrassed.

"I'm a Gryffindor prefect..." She spoke as if to explain, and as he continued to stare at her, she decided to continue "We have a lot of rivalry with Slytherin and I have a reputation, you... don't..."

"Right," Remus said, feeling disappointed with Lily, but tried to remember that she was 15-year-old and immature... didn't improve the situation when he remembered that he could be in Severus' situation if everyone knew about his condition.

He must have shown his disappointment, since Lily looked down.

"Just... say I asked him to be careful." She spoke softly, and with another nervous smile, she moved away into another corridor.

Remus continued walking, _almost_ missing the war...

 

A few days passed, and then Remus found Snape by himself sitting in the library while all the other tables were occupied. The werewolf approached and sat down in front of the other boy, sending him a sympathetic smile that was reciprocated with an arched eyebrow.

"What is this? Are you following me now?" Snape glanced around frantically, as if he expected the other marauders to come and attack him. When Remus opened his mouth to speak, Snape stood up.

"You don't have to leave just because I sat here" Remus said "I was hoping to share the table, but if you'd rather I could leave"

Snape hesitated, looking around.

"There are Gryffindors here" The Slytherin said, and Lupin considered the fact that he hadn't left yet as an achievement.

"Uh... being a friend of two popular boys doesn't necessarily make _me_ popular," Remus said with a smile, getting up this time, "They don't consider me very sociable".

"Lucky for them, I wish you'd shut up," Snape said with a sneer, startling when Remus genuinely laughed and shrugged. Severus sat down again, and when Lupin started to distance himself, he said, "Sit down, just be quiet".

Lupin smiled at him, who simply turned his face, and sat down in front of the boy, taking out several books and starting to do his homework, since the common room was too tumultuous for him to be able to do anything. Snape simply read a book, and after a moment Remus caught himself staring the way Snape didn't look as stressed as normal when he was distracted with the book.

Continuing his homework, Lupin took the book of potions from his backpack and Severus lifted his head to look at him before reaching out.

"Your potions book," he asked and Remus handed it hesitantly to Snape, who flipped through the book until he found a specific page before taking a quill and beginning to scribble in Remus' book.

"Hey!" Remus reached for his book, but Snape stepped away and kept writing.

"I'm helping you, idiot," Snape said and Lupin almost complained again, but he thought better.

After a few minutes of scribbling through the book, Severus returned the book to him with several notes and a few scratched and corrected words.

"That's next week's potion. This potions need to be brewed carefully, some instructions can be followed to the letter, others don't match..." The Slytherin began to explain, pointing out in his notes what changes he had made and the consequences of the mistakes.

Remus noticed that Snape was hardly aggressive while talking about potions, he almost seemed not to be as unhappy as usual... _almost_. Lupin was good at potions - nowhere near the slytherin, obviously -, but when Snape explained without being stressed, his company was almost pleasant. Remus found himself smiling a little.

It became a tradition, everyday they would sit together at the library and finish their homeworks together in a comfortable silence - they even started sitting side by side instead of having a table between them - sometimes they talked, but always about school and subjects and N.E.W.Ts, one time Remus tried to ask what Snape wanted for his future, but the other boy seemed miserable, so he just changed the subject of their conversation.

Remus felt as if they were almost becoming friends, and was quite glad for it, since it would mean, if this was real at all, that maybe he could prevent Snape from being a death eater after all.

 

A week later, after two transfiguration periods and a break, they had potions and Snape was already waiting outside the classroom for Remus - they were being partners regularly now. He tried to smile at the boy and only then did he notice the looks his friends were giving him. James was furious - probably because he hadn't been able to prank Snape since Remus started studying potions with him - and was the first to stride into the room, Sirius sent a glare to Snape - who was reciprocated by the other boy in the same intensity - before following the others.

Remus came in with him and they sat together as in the last classes. Snape didn't seem too willing to talk, as always, and he ignored all of Remus's attempts at small talk, which he didn't blame him, given his history with the Marauders.

Unlike the last few potions classes, James sat next to Sirius instead of Lily this time, behind Remus and Snape as usual, which made Pettigrew have a bit of trouble finding a place to sit, since no one wanted him as a partner.

The class went on normally, with Snape explaining about the potions while Remus listened intently.

At the end of the lesson, Remus thanked the slytherin, who simply got up and headed for the door, but fell to the floor with a loud thud when James set a foot in his way, laughter echoed from the entire room.

Remus turned to glare at James, but he couldn't stop laughing to notice. Lupin approached quickly, but before he could help Snape, the other boy got up and left the room in a hurry, students still laughing heavily. Remus thought seriously of rebuking his friend until he noticed the little red mark on the floor, deciding to follow Snape.

"Snape!" Remus called, but the other boy was still striding. Remus ran to catch him, holding his arm, which made Snape flinch and jerk his arm roughly. As he had suspected, his lip was bleeding lightly, probably where his teeth met the skin.

"Leave me alone," he said angrily and tried to walk, but Remus held him again.

"You should go to the infirmary," Remus said, but Snape shook his head, trying to pull away. "It's a small cut, Madame Pomfrey can -..."

"I can take care of myself!" Snape pushed him away and kept walking.

"Let me help you," Remus tried.

"You would help me by leaving me alone!" Snape complained and Remus sighed, letting him continue to the Slytherin common room.

Seeking the Marauders after his conversation with Snape, Remus found them near the Quidditch pitch, James was flying on his broom while Sirius was lying on the bleachers and Pettigrew sitting nearby. Remus used his wand to make James's broom stop and descend slowly to the ground.

James seemed confused as to why his broom had "stopped working," but he understood when he saw Remus approaching. Prongs stared at him with a look of pure boredom, waiting for his friend to approach and to begin with the sermon, but Remus pushed him, knocking him off his broom, surprising him as much as Pettigrew who gave a surprised squeal, drawing attention of Sirius, who began to descend the bleachers.

"Snape also has feelings, regardless of whether or not he shows it," Remus said, his voice even loud for himself.

"What the hell has he been putting in your head?!" James looked furious again.

"I know what it's like to feel excluded because of something I can't change! His case is to be from a house with a bad reputation, mine is because I'm a monster! Do you think you're better than me too?!" Remus said, and James's face softened, remembering the monthly difficulty his friend was experiencing "And Lily is her own person, you will never conquer her as long as you act like Severus owns her or as if you want to be her owner."

James was blushing now, perhaps embarrassed or angry, Remus couldn't say.

"Moony..." Pettigrew grasped Lupin's shoulder, who jerked away, visibly irritated.

"Don't touch me, you _treacherous_ _rat_!" He said before he could stop himself, Pettigrew hid behind Sirius, who stared at him completely confused for a moment, until noticing the reason for this outbursts.

Before he could speak, Remus was gone, he didn't want to hear.

"The full moon is near." Sirius commented "It's affecting him"

"All this for Snivellus," James said with bitterness.

"I think he found our last prank the last straw," Sirius said and James shrugged.

"I hope he gets back to normal soon, I can't stand Snivellus's face without him being humiliated or crying," James said with a cruel smile.

Remus felt terrible returning to the castle, he knew that Sirius must have talked about the moon, his friends used to understand, but he was _never_ against them when having outbursts. When the full moon was near, his senses were sharpened and his emotions became stronger and harder to control, same as his urges, he just didn't understand why he felt so protective of Snape... he prevented the boy from suffering Bullying, but his wolf side wanted to avoid him from suffering _anything_.

Maybe these few classes as partners had made him see him as a friend, he thought, trying to convince himself that it was no big deal.


	4. Chapter 4

Remus Lupin was acting strange.

Severus couldn't understand what was happening in the other boy's head. Suddenly Remus had begun to act all nice to him for no apparent reason, he began to use his position as prefect properly and indeed, James Potter hadn't been able to send Severus to the infirmary yet, so he had decided to accept the the gryffindor's company.

Severus didn't care about being Lupin's potion partner, but he was confused when the other appeared in his free time and simply sat in the library with him. Severus was reading and lost in thought until Lupin appeared, interrupting his peace. He couldn't help but look around searching the other marauders, almost leaving at the thought of being a prank, but the other convinced him to let him stay.

Snape had to pretend to continue his reading because he couldn't concentrate with a marauder so close, it never worked for him. The Slytherin glanced briefly at the boy in front of him, bracing himself, scared Lupin would try anything- not that he had any reason to suspect Lupin, but it was better to be alert.

The Slytherin wondered why he had so many scars on his face, but for some reason he thought they matched the boy, even though he was calm and they looked violent... maybe he had scars all over his body as well. Snape wasn't stupid and had his suspicions, but he never stopped to _really_ think about it. When he got caught staring, his chest tightened and Severus reached out and asked for the boy's potions book, after all, he wasn't going to have Remus Lupin thinking any kind of bullshit about him.

But that wasn't all, they ended up studying together in the library several times, and that also was no problem for the Snape as long as the gryffindor didn't annoy him. Lupin's company began to be... _tolerable_ , he had to admit to himself, and the fact that Potter and Black hadn't touched him was a good reason to continue... this companionship.

Well, that's until Potter knocked him down in a potions class and he cut his lip. He left the classroom quickly, angry and embarrassed, but Lupin had to follow him and hold him. Snape _hated_ the marauders, he hated being touched, and at the moment he was being touched by a damn marauder and he hated even more the fact that it brought him some comfort.

He started to avoid Lupin after that, avoiding the library and even the potions class the next day, but entering the Slytherin common room sometime later, he heard something interesting...

"...and then Lupin punched Potter and made him fall off his broom!" a girl said.

"But I thought they were friends." The boy next to her replied.

"They were, I'm not so sure now." She giggled.

Snape frowned. Lupin had rebuked Potter that day, but he didn't think he would have the guts to go against his friends for long... he decided to ignore the information, because he hated the sensation it gave him.

 

With only two nights to the full moon, Remus felt like he was freaking out. He had an itch under his skin, he was nervous and easily irritable, he didn't know why he felt like this full moon was affecting him more than normal, but thought that perhaps it was the lack of the wolfsbane potion.

He couldn't pay attention in classes, his leg trembled slightly in anxiety as he looked around, listening to the quills, hearts and even the students' breathing. Remus was also avoiding his friends, Snape and most of the classes - Dumbledore allowed, as he knew about the lycanthropy - but he still tried to participate as much as he could.

Remus and Severus had been studying in the library again, Snape was writing an essay for Slughorn on a piece of parchment and Remus _should_ be doing his potions homework with the notes that the Slytherin had given him, but he couldn't stop staring at the other boy, who was oblivious to everything around him.

Remus blamed his wolf side, for he couldn't help but notice the smallest details about the other boy, even the warmth from coming from him. Snape was rather pale and the contrast to his black hair and eyes was really charming, the boy smelled of books, potions, and something else the Gryffindor couldn't identify but was so like Snape.

He also couldn't help but notice how Snape mouthed the words as he wrote quickly, or how he put his hair behind his ear before reading anything. Remus sighed unconsciously and his breath hit the other boy's face, who turned to face him with an arched eyebrow.

Only then did they notice how close they were to each other. Remus turned his face and Snape turned away, both boys confused. Remus could hear Snape's quick heartbeat... he must've been so angry...

Severus glanced at him with a frown, but Lupin's face was now buried in a book, hiding his face - the Gryffindor didn't seem to notice that the book was upside down. Snape would have laughed if he wasn't so... nervous? confused?

Lupin saw that he was staring and gave him a nervous smile, looking back at the book quickly, only then realizing that it's been upside down all the time, blushing even more, he set the book down as fast as he could. Severus couldn't help the laughter that escaped him, which made the other boy look at him in surprise before laughing as well.

"You're an idiot," Snape commented.

"You already told me that," he replied with a smile. Lupin looked at his own hands.

Remus _felt_ like an idiot, especially now that the smell of the other boy decided not to leave him alone.

So Remus had decided to talk to Dumbledore after this somewhat strange event, scared about what would happen if he didn't go back to his own time. Dumbledore looked busy but decided to welcome him anyway. The headmaster was writing a letter when Remus entered his office.

"Mr. Lupin!" He greeted and dropped his quill, rising and approaching "I was wondering when you would show up. Would you accept anything? Lemon drops? Tea?"

"No thanks," Remus said and Dumbledore summoned two soft armchairs, sitting on one and motioning for him to sit on the other in front of him. Then the headmaster handed him a chocolate bar.

"You seem to be needing it," Dumbledore said with the same smile, Remus just stared at the chocolate "So, I get the impression you're here to talk about your monthly problem"

"Yeah, that too, but..." Remus started nervously. "I have another problem, I'm not _me_... I shouldnt be here..."

"You're not making much sense, Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore said, still very calm. "I believe you're stressed, you even got into a fight with Mr. Potter as far as I know." He glared at him over his half-moon glasses.

"No, you don't understand..." Remus tried to continue "Wait, what?" He hadn't had a fight with James, he just... pushed him.

"All right, Mr. Lupin." He continued to smile calmly "The Shrieking Shack will be ready for you. Maybe you should talk to me when you're calmer and your head is not so... _confused_." The man stood up "And I'll talk to you two about this confusion in the Quidditch pitch."

"You have to listen to me!" He begged, wanting to talk about the war, about the future, about this completely strange situation.

Dumbledore seemed to consider him for a moment, his face serious, and then he looked Lupin in the eyes, looking very pensive. After a few minutes, which seemed much longer than they really were, Albus stared at the floor.

"I think talking won't be necessary, Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore said, and Remus was confused, couldn't think straight at the moment.

Remus stared at him, hoping he would say something else, but the headmaster remained silent, his brow furrowed, as if he were thinking of several things at once and not liking _any_ of this things.

"Like I said, let's wait for the full moon to pass and then we'll talk, shall we?"

With no choice, Remus nodded and Dumbledore guided him out of his office.

 

The werewolf didn't know how he and his friends would interact if he approached, as they were irritated with each other, and Lupin couldn't hold his emotions at that time - he _really_ was missing the Wolfsbane potion... maybe he could brew it? no, he had no way of seeing instructions because it wasn't even invented yet and he would probably end up growing a second head.

Remus went to the Gryffindor common room, wanting more than anything to be alone and to ignore all the noise coming from the classrooms. He wasn't too happy with people staring at him and talking about a supposed fight he had with James because of that push.

It wasn't long before he got there, climbing straight into the dorm, happy to finally be alone, he laid down on the bed and closed the curtains, falling asleep after a while.

The werewolf woke when he heard the footsteps and laughter of his friends climbing into the dorm. Pulling back the curtain to look out the window, he saw that it was already night, sighing and closing the curtain again, placing the pillow on his head to try to muffle the noise.

"Moony!" Sirius pulled the curtains open in an attempt to scare his friend, who just grunted and turned away, his eardrums ached from how loud he said it, "Damn, I know how you usually get at this time, but you're so depressed," he commented, throwing something repeatedly on Lupin's back so that he would pay attention to him.

Remus didn't move and they went outt after a talk about Quidditch training, the werewolf rolled over in the bed, feeling terrible for ignoring his friends but not enough to get up and actually talk to them.

Remus felt a little better the next day and decided to go to class. He got up and put on his robes, briefly standing in the mirror and seeing how pale and sickly he looked, but he simply ignored his appearance. He felt a little more refreshed after eating triple what he normally ate at breakfeast, surprising some gryffindors around him, since the other marauders weren't around.

Finding James, Sirius, and Pettigrew in the History of Magic classroom, the teacher didn't even noticed a student entering in the middle of the class, continuing his boring explanation while the students scribbled, talked, or simply slept. He came over and pulled Sirius's feet off the chair beside him, sitting and ignoring his friend's protests.

James stared at him with coldness for a moment at the front desk, no doubt because of the rumors that "Lupin beated Potter", it was getting out of hand, but then James gave him a smile and Remus returned, almost forgetting they even had a "fight".

"You look awful," Sirius said with an arched eyebrow and a mischievous smile.

"Thank you," Remus said sarcastically and his friend laughed lightly.

"Are you going to want us to go with you tomorrow night?" James asked, and Remus thought. He wanted his friends company more than anything, but he didn't know if his wolf side would recognize them and he _definitely_ didn't want to hurt any of them, well... pehaps he didn't mind eating Pettigrew, but he didn't want to hurt Sirius or James.

"I appreciate it." Remus smiled at his friends. "But I want to be alone." James frowned instantly.

"If you're angry just say it," James complained and Remus sighed, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I'm not, Prongs," he said softly. "And I want to apologize to you, I shouldn't have pushed you off your broom... these rumors are very stupid"

"Yeah... I owe you a beating to get even." James gave him a crooked smile.

"But I still don't approve your attitude toward the other students," Remus said and James rolled his eyes, but decided not to pursue the subject, taking advantage of the almost friendly atmosphere they had managed to form.

It wasn't long before they headed for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. James and Sirius were making jokes with Pettigrew, who had embarrassed himself in front of the girl he liked. Remus spent most of the time ignoring what his friends were talking about because of the huge amount of noise... until he was surprised by a smell...

He turned towards the door, noticing a group of Slytherins entering. His friends exchanged insults with a group of other students, but Remus wasn't paying attention to them, he was looking at _Snape_.

Remus didn't want to think about why the wolf was so amazed by Severus, but he was avoiding him for exactly that reason... he didn't know how he would react. Remus's fists clenched, the urge to come closer to the boy and his smell was too overwhelming.

Lupin wanted Severus to stay away, but the boy approached him when he noticed him. Remus wanted to cover his own nose, but he knew he would be misunderstood if he did, so he smiled nervously at the Slytherin.

"Your potions homework from yesterday" He said simply, handing him some parchments, Remus even managed to forget the cloud of confusion in his head.

"You did this for me..." Severus frowned as he realized that this wasn't really something he would do.

"Right, I won't do it next time," he said simply, but Remus grabbed his arm before he went. Remus couldn't handle the feel of the other boy's skin in his hand... he had to convince himself so he wouldn't approach and inhale.

"Thank you." He managed to say, but he didn't let go of Snape's wrist for a long moment, he wanted to... to... Remus dropped Snape's hand as if he had been burned when he realized it was getting weird and tried to pay attention in class, but it was practically impossible, because his attention always returned to the Slytherin... and the fact that the wolf side of him thought that Snape _cared_ about him made the situation even worse.

Remus avoided the rest of the classes.

 

Madame Pomfrey was leading Remus to the Shrieking Shack, Sirius and James were accompanying him - Remus asked them to persuade Pettigrew not to come, as he would probably chase after the rat as soon as he smelled his disgusting scent. They followed in silence to the whomping willow, he said goodbye and they asked him again if he didn't want to stay with them, but Remus preferred to be more safe than sorry.

He came in alone with Madame Pomfrey, who put the wards around the place, advising Lupin to be careful and ensuring him that she would return in the morning to take care of any injuries and take him back to the castle. He thanked her and she started to distance herself to the hatch... he'd been worried about something all night, and he didn't know if he should speak, but now that he was about to become the beast, he decided it was best to say.

"Can you make the wards stronger?" He asked and she turned to face him in confusion.

"Why?" She asked gently, he was visibly anxious.

Remus thought of Snape... he remembered what it was like to transform himself as he liked someone - not that he was admitting anything - for he had forgotten to take one of the wolfsbane potions before breaking up with Tonks. If there wasn't a strong protection around him, the beast would have gone after her for sure and he didn't even want to imagine what would have happened... the night had been _excruciating_ , but he was relieved to know that he hadn't hurt her.

"I don't want to hurt anyone," he said simply and she stared at him for a moment before nodding.

She left and he heard her footsteps retreat into the tunnel. Looking around he realized how long it seemed he didn't see this place. He walked around for some time, looking at the very familiar claw and teeth marks everywhere...

He undressed and folded his clothes, placing them in a place he hoped the werewolf wouldn't reach and waited for the moon to finally appear as he grabbed his own knees.

Suddenly his body began to squirm and the pain was disturbing. Lupin could see his hands lengthening, his claws growing. His clawed hands and feet were scratching the ground with the pain, his teeth growing, like his muzzle, and he felt _angry_.

Completely transformed, the werewolf stretched and howled, walking through the familiar place, recognizing.

Walking around he smelled a sweet scent of feminine perfume, his human side knew it was Madam Pomfrey's, but the wolf was annoyed at the strong scent, snarling briefly. The beast sought a way out everywhere and began to scratch and bite when he couldn't find it.

After long moments biting and self-clawing from lack of prey, howling and trying to break all the walls of the place, the wolf laid down for a moment and then raised its muzzle when a wind blew from the direction of the castle after a few minutes... detecting an _inviting_ smell. He stood up again and tried to break the walls with his body - now bloodied due to self-inflicted wounds - claws and teeth, to no avail.

The smell was making him completely deranged, more so because he couldn't get out of the place where he was locked... the wolf hadn't stopped howling or attacking the walls until he felt too exhausted to continue. He laid down again, licking his own wounds before falling asleep.

Remus woke with the first rays of sunlight through small cracks in one of several windows. He sat up with difficulty, feeling the pain of the night's struggle and his self-inflicted wounds. The pain was quickly forgotten when he felt the complete embarrassment when he noticed what was happening in the middle of his legs... he could only think of how much he was screwed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry late Christmas and happy new year since I won't be posting so soon, I hope you guys enjoyed and I hope y'all have a wonderful 2019.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long, sorry for the bad english, sorry for this bad story.  
> Sorry for not answering the comments, I was kinda busy, so I just posted, but I appreciate <3

Remus dressed only his underwear knowing that he would have to remove the rest when Madam Pomfrey returned to take care of his wounds. He had decided to ignore his morning _problem_ and was waiting for the medi-witch. He noticed that the place had several new scratches and new bites marks, plus a lot of fresh and dried blood... he looked around, cringing.

Madam Pomfrey didn't take long to arrive and brought several potions with her, ordering him to drink two while she quickly treated the new cuts and bites on his body. When she finished examining him, Remus followed her back to the castle, and when he tried to climb the stairs to the Gryffindor tower, she held his arm.

"Where do you think you're going? You need to rest." She said sharply and insisted on bringing him to the infirmary. Remembering how the common room was noisy, he couldn't deny her _request_.

Remus continued to follow Madame Pomfrey through the corridors until they finally arrived at the infirmary. The corridors, for Remus' relief, were empty for it was still too early. The medi-witch guided him to one of the beds and handed him a dreamless sleep potion. He saw no reason to refuse, so he simply laid down - only then realized how tired he really was - and drank the potion and fell instantly asleep.

When he woke up, he saw Dumbledore sitting in an armchair beside his bed - an armchair that hadn't been there before - and then the headmaster smiled at him. Remus couldn't make himself smile back, so he simply rubbed his eyes, trying to ward off the fatigue with great difficulty.

He could hear the students in the hallways and Madam Pomfrey scolding someone a few beds away, he closed his eyes again, wanting desperately to sleep, but the headmaster probably wanted to talk about his a "fight" with James.

"Me and James didn't have a fight," Remus said simply, not wanting to open his eyes again.

"I know" Dumbledore replied with a twinkle in his eyes "Mr. Potter kindly went to my office to tell me that it was all a rumor...".

Remus breathed a sigh of relief for a moment until...

"Spread by Severus Snape" The headmaster said and, noticing Lupin's troubled expression, he mistook the reason "Don't worry, Mr. Lupin, Severus will be punished according to...".

"No," Remus said, sitting up and then regretting it because of the headache that the abrupt movement caused "Snape didn't...".

"I know you two started a kind of friendship, but you can not defend Severus if he..."

"Why did not you tell me this when I defended James and Sirius while they abused other students ?!" Remus vented and took a deep breath, ignoring Dumbledore's surprised face at his outburst "Snape didn't do that, I pushed James and some students must have seen," he said.

"I figured not, but I wanted to see your reaction," Dumbledore said with a gentle smile and that twinkle again. Remus lifted his face to look at him, confused, but the other changed the subject quickly "And about what you told me in my office...".

The headmaster hesitated for a moment and sighed, glancing at him briefly over his half-moon glasses.

"I have something very selfish to ask of you, Mr. Lupin.".

 

Snape never thought he would be asking himself about something like this, but there he was thinking 'where the hell is Lupin?!' while he was hiding in a broom closet because of the marauders. Lupin had not appeared in the library, nor in class, nor anywhere since that day in DADA class when he looked so sick like he was going to die at any moment.

Severus had spent most of the day avoiding James Potter and Sirius Black like the plague, because after such a long time without touching or humiliating him, they would probably do something he wouldn't forget so soon. Paying attention to every little noise coming from the hallway, he heard Potter's laughter drifting away and he took a deep breath before leaving and heading to the marauders' opposite side.

He barely took two steps before bumping into two Slytherin seventh years. Snape excused himself and tried to keep walking, but one of the boys stopped him from passing and he arched his brow, trying to turn away again and being prevented again.

"Excuse me." He said through gritted teeth, trying to move past them again.

"You have very interesting friends, have not you, _Snape_?" One of them spoke, he said his name like a curse and the two older boys exchanged glances at his expression "First, that filthy mudblood" Snape felt irritated, but not how much he _should_ have when he heard the word "Where is Lupin? he's been following you like a puppy, hasn't he? or it's the opposite?"

They laughed lightly and Snape tightened the grip in his wand, breathing quickly and feeling more nervous with every second. Severus stared at them with a blank face, not giving them the satisfaction of showing that their words had taken effect on him.

"You're done? Because, unlike you, I actually study because I do not have rich family members to help me if I become a useless waste of space" The two Slytherins looked very angry and their faces were red. Snape allowed himself a smile, he knew he would be attacked, but he was used to it by now and knew more hexes and spells than the two of them together.

"I guess you forgot that Malfoy is no longer here to protect you" One of them exclaimed and approached, Snape stepped back calmly, arching his eyebrow again... and then had to protect himself from a **stupefy**.

Both of them decided to attack him with hexes at the same time, but neither of them were good enough to knock him down, or make it a challenge to him - he even thought he should thank the marauders for the long nights he had spent training self-defense for this kind of situation. The Slytherins seemed more annoyed every second they could not hurt him, they were probably accustomed to picking on the feet of the younger ones who could not defend themselves.

However, Snape was surprised when one of them dropped his wand and simply threw himself at him, he never imagined that they would try to fight in the _Muggle_ way, as they said. He knocked him down and hit him with three strong punches on his face before Snape could react, kicking him between his legs, leaving him breathless briefly, but soon having to deal with the other boy, who had also decided to try the muggle fight.

Snape could take care of himself in a duel with wands, but he had never been very strong, so after a few minutes managing to fight back with punches and kicks, the two managed to knock him down again. Resistance to pain was another thing he could thank the marauders for. He tasted blood and his ribs ached heavily where one of them had kicked.

" **Petrificus totalus**!" Someone screamed and the taller fell on Snape with a thud, making him breathless.

" **Stupefy** " Another voice spoke and the other flew a distance and fell unconscious.

Severus allowed himself to breathe and stood up with a little difficulty, spitting the blood that filled his mouth, his nose was leaking. He looked at the boy on the floor and kicked him straight in the ribs three times... he turned to look who had helped him and, seeing Potter and Black standing with their wands in their hands while Pettigrew looked with interest, he searched for his own wand frantically, finding it on the floor.

"Do not even think about it!" Potter said as he tried to reach his wand and Snape closed his eyes, breathing as best he could with all that blood in his nose. "At least you're good at fighting, huh, Snivellus... you got two pure bloods to fight _without_ wands," James smiled, but his voice was not as hateful as usually when addressing Snape.

"When they don't _surprise_ me and it's a fair fight, I can take care of myself, _Potter_." Snape spitted, still angry that Potter had to petrify him to humiliate him that other day.

"Two against one is not fair," Black commented with an arched eyebrow, Snape snorted.

"But four are?" He said angrily, "Go ahead, do whatever you want and let me go." Snape said, he didn't have the energy for more fights, he hardly knew that Potter and Black had been really impressed that he had managed to hold two seventh years without problem... well, except when they decided that punches were better than hexes.

Looking at the marauders, he could practically see the gears stirring in their heads - except Pettigrew, that did not even seem to know where he was - while deciding something... probably how to prank him or how to humiliate him in front of everyone again... staring at the three again, Snape was angry when he caught himself wondered again where Lupin was... not that he really imagined that he was really his friend, but he felt safer when the voice of reason of the group was with them. Or that what he told himself.

Snape was surprised again when Black approached - he flinched, expecting a shove or something - and levitated one of his attackers, giving Snape a gentle shove for him to walk on. James hesitated for a moment before levitating the other, following Black.

"Where...?" Severus asked, mildly worried that they would kill him and forge a crime scene.

"We are going to the infirmary, greasy git," Black replied and Severus paused again, but Black pushed him.

"No." Snape tried to get back and this time James held his arm tightly enough to show that he was angry.

"Listen here, I hate you and you hate me, and there's nothing I want more than to ignore you and let you bleeding in the hallway, but Lily and Remus seem to like you for some reason and you'll go to the bloody infirmary whether you like it or not. I'd be glad to stun and drag you there if you want" James spoke aggressively, forcing Snape to follow them toward the infirmary.

 

"Merlin's beard!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed as the doors to the infirmary opened.

Remus was still sitting on his bed, trying to read a book to relax after he had that long conversation with Dumbledore and the man had left him alone to think about his proposal a few minutes ago and that is exactly what he had been doing all this time... well, until now.

He straightened up in the bed to see what was happening and was not surprised to see James and Sirius. He actually smiled, imagining that his friends had hurt each other in Quidditch - or rather, James was playing his part in luring Lily, who helped Madam Pomfrey from time to time - but was surprised to see two Slytherins floating behind them and a bloodied Snape being guided to one of the beds by Madam Pomfrey.

Remus was _really_ confused, but his first thought was that James and Sirius had pranked and fighted Snape and the other two slytherins, but Snape was bleeding and they had never had a fight like _that_ \- not that Remus had known of at least - and, if they really had hurt them... then why bring them to the infirmary? Remus never felt so confused... Sirius and James wouldn't do something like that.

The medi-witch ran toward the two Gryffindors after giving something to Snape and they helped her position the other two Slytherins in beds and then shouted in their faces asking for explanations, knowing the troublemakers they were. Sirius and James ran over each other as they tried to talk at the same time, but somehow Madam Pomfrey managed to understand them, and by their smiles they were probably given house points for some reason.

To make the boy's confusion worse, a panting, desperate Lily Evans had entered the infirmary looking like she had been running through the whole school, she glanced around and ran straight to Snape, giving him a hug that made the boy awkward and he had a guilty look in his eyes. Remus saw James staring at Snape with complete disgust and turned angrily to leave the infirmary, but after a brief conversation with the Slytherin, Lily ran toward James and hugged him as well... Remus could not help laughing at how red his friend's face had remained as he returned the half-awkward hug, smiling crookedly at her and running his hand through his hair, the girl arched a brow at the action, but still smiled and told something to Sirius.

Lily returned to Snape and he said something that left her with a serious expression... Remus could not pay attention anymore because James had left the infirmary with a silly smile on his face and Sirius was approaching while laughing - Remus did not need to read minds to know he was laughing at James' expression - and sitting on the side of Remus' bed.

"He's going to talk about this hug for the next few years," Sirius commented and Remus laughed lightly... Sirius then became serious. "Hard night?"

"You know how it is." Remus smiled at him, but Sirius still looked concerned "I'm fine, but you know Madam Pomfrey." Sirius laughed again. "So... what happened just now?"

"It's a funny story." Sirius smiled mischievously. "Me and James heard a noise in the hallway and there he was: Sniv-... Snape was fighting two older students and while they seemed desperate to hurt him, Snape was not even sweating" Sirius turned his face to look at Snape on the bed of the opposite wall, Madam Pomfrey was examining his bloody nose, Lily by his side. "He managed to get two pure-bloods into a Muggle fight, I must say... it was impressive even with a little help from us."

"You... helped... Snape?" Remus asked in disbelief.

"Of course" Sirius raised an eyebrow at him with a funny grin on his face "We're not going to lose your friendship over Snivellus. And because of Evans's hug, I bet Prongs will want to become his best friend now" Both laughed at the possibility "Don't expect that from me though."

They talked a little more about what he had missed during the day, the fact that the medi-witch had given twenty house points to each of them for helping colleagues from other houses, and some other stuff before Sirius left - it was already getting dark and Madam Pomfrey was pratically kicking him out - and Lily did not take long to leave either, and, through her tearful but satisfied face - as well as Snape's - they must have cleared up several things between them... Remus felt so proud of his friends at the moment.

After a while, Madam Pomfrey offered him another potion and he knew better than to argue, so he simply drank it. The two seventh years Slytherins were still unconscious, but Snape was reading a transfiguration book. His nose was no longer bleeding, it looked a lot better, but he still had a few bruises on his face that would probably vanish the next day if it depended on Poppy.

Remus saw that Snape caught him staring at him and smiled at the other boy, who had a strange expression on his face. Remus thought he would be ignored like all other times he tried to be nice, but he was surprised once more when Snape got up from his bed and approached Remus, sitting on the bed beside him, staring back at him. Severus frowned and seemed to be debating something to himself, and then, after a relatively long pause, said:

"Where have you been?" He stared at the floor as he asked.

"I... I was sick, I could not leave here all day..." A half-truth. Snape looked up at him and Remus could not help it. "Did you miss me?" He asked with a crooked smile, trying to lift the other boy's spirits, expecting him to curse him, make a face of disgust and a sarcastic remark, but again he was surprised when Snape _blushed_... and it was a beautiful contrast in his pale face.

Snape coughed slightly for a few moments as Remus stared at him in disbelief.

"Do not be ridiculous, Lupin," he said before returning to his own bed and, instead of reading, simply laid down.

...He had a lot of surprises in just one day...

 


	6. Chapter 6

"So, why did they attack you?" Remus asked Snape the next day when Madame Pomfrey had finally decided to release them from the infirmary, since Dumbledore wanted to talk to the two Slytherins alone. Snape visibly tensed at the question and Lupin thought he wouldn't be answered, but before he could try to change the subject, the other boy sighed.

"They hate me, like most of my housemates... they didn't like my friendship with Lily..." He paused, seeming to decide something with himself, and then smiled in a way that Remus thought looked pretty "Ironically, what they did brought us closer."

Remus was very angry at the two slytherins, but before he could show his indignation, Snape broke the silence again.

"And you." Lupin almost forgot his anger, he was really confused now. Noticing the other boy's confusion, Snape decided to elaborate, "They also didn't want me to talk to another... Gryffindor".

"So they waited to find you alone to attack you," Remus said, visibly irritated "If I had known, I would have left the infirmary with or without Madam Pomfrey's permission." Snape raised an eyebrow at him and snorted.

"Why? It's not as if you-...".

"I protect my friends," Lupin said earnestly, and perhaps it was a trick of the light, but Snape thought he saw the other boy's eyes shine dangerously. Remus turned, looking at the infirmary as if he wanted to go back there and make the two Slytherins taste their own medicine.

When Remus turned back to Snape, he saw that the boy was quite surprised, as if he was extremely confused, and it took him a while to realize that the reaction was due to the fact that he had called him friend. Remus laughed lightly.

"You may not consider me your friend, but I consider you mine," Remus said and placed his hands on Snape's shoulders and he flushed briefly, looking annoyed before he disengaged himself from Lupin and hurried out of the place. Remus sighed.

Snape started to avoid him after that.

 

All the Gryffindor students screamed in amazement as James Potter captured the golden snitch, everyone jumped, shouted James' name, or cursed the Slytherin crowd on the other side. Remus's eardrums seemed about to explode, but he couldn't help but smile at his friend, who came down from the broom in the pitch and was picked up by his teammates.

Remus came down from the stands amid the crowd of Gryffindors who were also trying to get closer to the team, he was trying to plug his ears because of the noise as best he could. Several students also headed toward the Quidditch team, everyone congratulating James and helping to carry him. Madame Hooch tried desperately to calm them down, but she knew the Gryffindor crowd way too well.

When Sirius saw him from afar, he let the crowd carry James and ran toward Remus, placing his arm around Remus' shoulder and letting him practically carry him. Remus laughed, supporting his friend. Sirius was panting, sweaty, and his face was faintly red from the sport, just like James himself, but James' hair was much more messy and Sirius still attracted the attention of several girls.

"Congratulations on the victory," Remus shouted so Sirius could hear him amidst the cheering crowd.

"Congratulate Prongs, he's a chaser, not a seeker, but we still won," Sirius also shouted. The team seeker was in the infirmary because of an accident in training and James had to replace him.

They watched James for a moment, the boy looked ecstatic, unlike the Slytherin crowd, which was quietly scattering, looking extremely annoyed as they went slowly toward the castle, their faces. Remus took a brief glance expecting to see a certain person, but he knew that he didn't like Quidditch and was unlikely to be there.

He hadn't seen Snape for days - not that he was looking for, _of course not_ \- and Remus had spent a good deal of time thinking about Dumbledore's request. He knew it was the right thing to do, but still... he was distracting himself before he had to give his answer to Dumbledore... and whether he wanted or not he'd been enjoying Snape's company.

James used his wand to raise his voice so everyone could hear him, and announced a party in the Gryffindor common room that night, everyone around him gave more excited shouts. Hooch and some teachers said this party would _not_ happen, but the boys knew that McGonagall liked Quidditch too much to keep them from celebrating the victory of the Quidditch House Cup.

After they released James, the crowd continued to celebrate towards the castle, leaving the team members free to go into the locker room. James ran toward his two friends at the same time Pettigrew had finally managed to get out of the crowd, reaching for him with his short legs.

James threw himself at the two boys, hugging them and laughing, drawing more laughter from them. Remus and Pettigrew accompanied the two of them to the locker room, where they kept talking while the two took off their uniforms. James was enjoying the attention, as his teammates kept praising him.

"Do you think Evans will show up?" James asked suddenly, and after a pause Sirius laughed. They were alone because the rest of the team had already gone back to the castle.

"She's a Gryffindor, it's her common room!" Sirius said with a laugh, James turned slightly red.

"But she can stay in the dormitory or..." James looked genuinely nervous.

"Actually, I think she'll even talk to you after you've helped Snape," Remus said, and James turned to face him as if he had noticed something.

"Of course!" James smiled, got up and lifted Remus along "Invite him!"

"What?" Remus frowned, confused, but James continued to smile like an idiot.

"Invite Snivellus!" He said "She'll be so happy!".

Remus ignored the mean nickname and smiled crookedly at his friend. He must've understood that being kind to her friend would be more effective than being mean.

"I don't think he'll go to a room full of Gryffindors," Remus commented, James shrugged.

"He is _your_ friend" He said, "And if he doesn't come, you can prove that we really tried to invite him."

Remus rolled his eyes, but the happiness of his friend prevented him from berating him for using both he and Snape.

In the great hall, several students went from their tables to the other tables to invite their friends to the party, which was being talked about in the whole castle. James kept looking for Lily, for he had seen her in the game, but she was nowhere in the hall. James seemed to get more restless every second the redhead did not show up.

"What if she..." he tried to get a desperate excuse for the twentieth time.

"No, Prongs," Sirius interrupted, laughing at his friend's annoyed face. "Calm down, the girl might even be in the bathroom while you cry for nothing,".

"Hm" James continued to look around "And you already invited Snivellus?" He turned to Remus, who was distracted enough by thinking again of what Dumbledore had said, barely touching his plate.

"No ..." he simply said.

"Then invite, everyone is inviting their... friends," James said and pointed to the students from other homes coming and going to their table. Remus sighed.

"He's not here," Remus commented, and James glanced at the Slytherin's table, looking for Snape's oily hair. Sirius raised an eyebrow at his werewolf friend.

"Do you pay that much attention to him?" Sirius asked and Remus gave him an angry look, which made him raise his hands in surrender.

"Do you think she's with him?" James asked, his brow furrowed, worried, then he turned to Remus. "Please go look for Snape," the boy's face was slightly red.

"...Why do not you go?" Lupin asked and James looked away.

"Because if she's really with him, she'll think I'm going to... do something mean." He said and Remus raised an eyebrow. "And he will not trust me, he'll think it's a prank."

"And he's right, is not he?" Remus spoke and his friend rolled his eyes.

"No scoldings, Moony, look for them, please!" James asked and Remus took a deep breath, staring at his friend for a moment before getting up and heading toward the corridor, listening to James shouting praises and exaggerated compliments all the way.

Remus headed for the library, knowing that if Snape was not in his dorm in the dungeons, he would be there. He regretted that he didn't go his own dormitory to get the marauders map, but he was relieved to see that he would not have to search too much as he saw Lily talking to someone in the hallway near the library.

"Lily" He called and both the girl and the person with his back to him visibly tensed, he was confused, but he approached "Excuse me" He said and the person next to Lily lowered his face "Are you going to the party?"

"Potter asked you to come and ask" It was not a question and Remus nodded with a smile and she sighed, folding her arms "I don't know, maybe... I'm thinking".

"And you know where Snape is?" He asked and Lily's eyes widened nervously.

"Uhm... why?" She raised an eyebrow, but she was smiling in a way that Remus could not identify what that smile meant.

"James also wants to invite him," Remus said and she looked at her colleague, who finally lifted his head and Remus noticed that _this_ was Snape, but he was very... _different_... he was...

"Potter wants me to go?" He asked with visible disbelief. Remus knew he was staring, but he could not help it. Snape's black eyes and pale face were accentuated by the curtain of _silky_ black hair, unlike the usual greasiness, and he did not hide most of his face. Remus was too distracted to notice Lily's proud expression.

"Erh... yes, he..." Remus tried to say, but he had to clear his throat. "He wants to... you two and anyone you want to invite can come" Lupin still had not looked away from the other boy, who blushed.

"What does he get out of it?" Snape asked

"You don't have to go if you don't want to..." Snape and Lily exchanged glances, before the boy left without saying anything at all, looking rather annoyed, leaving the girl and Remus - who could not help staring at him as he left -  just like the other students, who stared in stunned disbelief upon realizing that this was Severus Snape.

"What happened to him?" Remus could not stop the question, still following the boy with his eyes and Lily smiled.

"I convinced him to take care of his appearance when... because of... mhm." She paused and her tone indicated that she was hiding something and could not say "Potter doesn't want to do anything against him, does he?" her voice suddenly became serious.

"No, he genuinely wants you there." That got another smile from the girl. "If you do not mind if I ask... I'm glad you two are closer, but what did you talk about in the infirmary?"

"About our friendship," she said after a pause. "He told me why he was so annoyed at me, his mistakes, my mistakes... and I talked about what bothered me and we worked out. We also talked about our personal tastes, if you're curious..." She laughed at Lupin's embarrassed expression before saying goodbye and running in the direction the Slytherin had gone.

Arriving in the common room, Remus was surprised by the amount of butterbeer and firewhiskey that they had been able to bring to the place - the food had probably been brought in by the house elves, but the rest?... Remus ignored the boys they were decorating the common room with magic and went up to the dormitory, being relieved to see his friends there.

Sirius was wearing a black social shirt and black pants, the first buttons were open and he was looking at himself in the mirror, turning around as he noticed Remus coming in - with that appearance and knowing his friend, he knew he was in the mood to shag someone. James was sitting in his own bed while chewing his nails in anxiety, looking at Remus with apprehension as he entered.

"She's will come," Remus said before his friend filled him with questions, and he could not stop himself from smiling with his friend, who stood up and hugged Lupin before pushing Sirius out of the way to the mirror and starting to mess his hair, getting ready'.

"Better with or without glasses?" He asked seriously, taking his glasses off and Sirius laughed.

The party didn't take long to start, with the great majority of Gryffindors already celebrating and still congratulating James for the brilliant game of Quidditch. He kept looking for Lily though.

Remus was sitting in an armchair in the common room as more students entered from the fat lady's portrait at every minute. Many students were drinking, dancing, the music was too loud and they laughed, had fun, and in the case of some - like Sirius - were making out with a lot of different people whenever Remus turned to look.

He was not paying much attention, but James came over and handed him a glass of firewhiskey, leaning so Remus could hear him through all the noise.

"Are you sure she's coming?" James asked, but before he could respond, the redhead came in and James practically ran to meet the girl, slightly hesitating to see Snape behind her... Remus laughed at his friend's confused expression at the sight of the _new_ Snape, but deciding simply greet him and ignore him after.

James seemed to persuade Lily to take a butterbeer and took her away from Snape, who had simply leaned against the wall near the entrance as if he was already waiting anxiously to leave... Remus drank the whole glass of his firewhiskey before deciding to approach Snape, taking two drinks from two distracted Gryffindors on the way, ignoring their curses.

"Hi," Remus said and Snape stared at him blankly, the werewolf offered the butterbeer and the other boy accepted but did not drink. "You're... different" He commented and the other raised his eyebrow, still not saying anything "I did not think you would come."

"Thank Lily for that. And for the 'difference'" Snape said and took a sip. "After all, what's the fun in a bunch of teens wasting time with loud music and booze?"

"To tell you the truth, I do not know either," Remus said with a friendly smile and the other's face softened slightly. "How did she convince you to come?"

"Hm ..." Severus stared at his feet, as if deciding whether or not to say something. "She did not want to come to a party, but she wanted to see Potter because you came to say that he wanted her to come..."

"You were invited, too." Snape glared at him.

"Yeah..." He looked annoyed. After an uncomfortable pause, Remus leaned against the wall beside him.

"Lily wanted to see James, huh?" He said as if the information surprised him, but he regretted after receiving an angry look from the other boy "I'm sorry," Remus said quietly, but he knew Snape had heard when he tensed "I know you..." _like her_ , Remus thought, but for some reason could not say "You do not like James...".

"She's my best friend, I worry" Snape commented after a long pause and Remus nodded.

"If it makes you feel better, James really likes her," Remus said, watching James and Lily dance for a moment while he and Severus remained silent until the redhead approached them both with a slightly flushed face and a smile on her face that seemed to grow larger at the sight of Remus.

"Severus, Lupin!" she greeted, tossing her hair back "Are you two having fun?" she asked.

"I did not even want to be here," Snape replied and her smile subsided.

"You just have to relax a little!" she said and pulled him by the arm to some place Remus decided not to follow. Lupin looked for James and saw him doing a contest of who drank faster with Pettigrew, who was already vomiting on the floor while James was still drinking. Remus looked around the room again, looking for Sirius and not finding him... he knew Sirius was probably fucking someone in their dorm... Remus just hoped it was not in his bed.

Sometime later, he couldn't find any of his friends nor he felt like searching too much, so he just sat down again.

Remus was surprised when Snape came back after a really long time later, his face lightly flushed - Lily had probably made him drink a little to 'have fun and relax'. Severus approached after noticing him.

"Come with me to the dungeons?" He asked, frowning, and before Remus could ask why, he replied, "I do not want to be attacked again by being alone."

"Sure," he replied, getting up and accompanying him to the exit.

They left the portrait and the silence of the hallway was a relief to Remus' ears. Snape staggered from time to time, which showed that he was kinda drunk.

"Are you okay?" The werewolf asked as they walked slowly through the empty hallway.

"Hm?" Snape did not seem to be paying attention and his face was strangely relaxed. "Yeah... I'm fine..." They were silent for a moment. "They were playing truth or challenge in the dormitory," Snape commented, but Remus had the impression that it was the drink talking, "Potter told me to play and Lily, too... I did not want to, but I did not think I would _actually_ participate."

"what?" He could not avoid the question, Severus snorted "they did not make you do anything without your consent, right?"

"It was a dare. I didn't do it." Snape commented and the way to the dungeons went silent after that. Remus wondered if James had humiliated him like he used to...

It wasn't long before they reached the dungeons and the door of the Slytherin common room, where Snape seemed visibly tense and hesitant, which made Remus confused once more, then the other boy suddenly turned and pulled Lupin's face for a kiss.

Remus was too shocked to react at first, the world seemed in slow motion. He was sure they stayed like this for hours, but he was also sure that the kiss had not gone beyond a quick peck, since Snape had separated them quickly. Remus stared at him for a few seconds, but before the other could escape into the Slytherin common room, the werewolf pushed him relatively hard against the wall and kissed him for _real_. All his instincts screaming to own him and mark him as _his_.

Remus could tell that Snape did not have much experience - or any at all - in that regard, but the kiss was wonderful and he felt his whole body burn when Severus parted his lips and let himself be explored by Lupin's insistent tongue. The sound of Snape's low moan went straight to Remus' cock, and they only separated when they were both equally breathless.

Snape gasped, and if he was not leaning against the wall, his knees would surely have subsided and he would have been on the floor. His face was redder than before, his lips red and swollen, Their breaths mingling as they caught their breath, but then Severus seemed to be coming back to himself as he pushed Remus away and went into the dormitory.

Remus raised his hand to his lips and could not help but smile.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's trash, but I hope y'all like it :/


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the bad english and sorry for the bad chapter, I'm always unsatisfied, so sorry for that too.  
> Also, sorry for taking so long, but I was sick and spent some days in the hospital (it's nothing much, I'm just really... fragile? like I get sick really [I mean REALLY] easily), so I hope y'all forgive me...  
> I'm good now, so If I take too long in the next chapter I'm just being lazy.

Returning to the Gryffindor tower that night, Remus couldn't stop thinking about what had happened, nor stop smiling, it was even because he felt a lot older than _this_ Snape. On the way, he saw several students returning to their respective houses and felt relieved to know that the party had probably ended and he would return to a quieter place than when he left.

When he came in through the fat lady's portrait, the place was a mess and James was lying on the couch in front of the fireplace, Lily by his side as they talked about something and she laughed a lot for some reason. Remus came over and they greeted him as a few Gryffindors climbed into their respective dorms, including Lily, whose face was lightly flushed, James stared at her until the girl disappeared from sight and then turned to Remus, who was still distracted thinking of Severus.

"Why are you smiling like that?" James then asked with an arched eyebrow drawing him out of his reverie. Remus could see that he had drunk a lot, but he was still sober enough to talk and remember everything the next day, but not to avoid the headache he would surely have.

"Nothing much," Remus replied and tried to look serious, but he failed and smiled, and James sat up straight, staring at him with a huge smile.

"You snogged someone!" He said in surprise, and when Remus blushed, he started to laugh out loud "You bastard! And we here thinking you were the pure one...".

"Shut up," Remus said and thought seriously about saying no more, but he did not want another rumor spreading "We didn't... we just... kissed" he explained.

"I know her?!" James asked excitedly, "It's going to be serious or..." Before he could finish, a girl came down from the men's dormitory with her hair and clothes all messy. She blushed as she saw them staring and practicallyran out of the common room.

The two exchanged suspicious glances and hurried up to the bedroom. Remus felt the scent of sex before they even arrived and he was not at all surprised to find Sirius completely naked lying on James' bed - not mine, thank God, Remus thought - and his friend growled angrily, taking clothes and pillows he found on the floor and throwing at the boy in his bed.

"In my bed, you asshole ?!" James complained as Sirius laughed lightly, giving stupid explanations.

When they settled into the beds after a long period of discussion, James stayed in Pettigrew's bed - who had accidentally slept in the common room - making it clear that he would not lie down in his own bed until the house elves or Sirius himself had cleaned. Remus decided to ask them the question that was eroding him.

"So... what happened when I wasn't here? besides... you shagging a Ravenclaw in James' bed" He asked and James blushed completely, Sirius laughed at his friend.

"He got a kiss on Evans' cheek," Sirius commented and James told him to shut up. "I got a little bit more." He laughed and explained how he ended up in - James' - bed with a sixth year Ravenclaw girl "And you? where were you?"

"Oh, he was with someone" James said after a moment and Sirius snorted, thinking it was a joke.

It was then Remus's turn to blush. He was grateful that Pettigrew had fallen asleep in the common room and was not there to hear. Sirius then seemed to notice and turned to Remus "Moony?!" he started to laugh.

"Nothing happened," he said, but Sirius and James kept teasing him and asking who the 'girl' was. "It was just a kiss...".

"And you are like that just because of a kiss?" Sirius asked and Remus turned in bed, determined to ignore them "How cute, he's in love."

He heard his friends still talking a little before finally falling asleep. Sirius slept quickly and James soon after... but Lupin was lost in thought for a few more hours.

In Slughorn's class the next day, Remus was disappointed when he saw that Snape and Lily were sitting together, because he really wanted to talk to the other boy and found the potions class the perfect time, since they had been partners for some time and nobody would hear them because they would be very worried about taking care of their own potions.

As he passed their desk, he tried to smile at Snape, but the Slytherin only looked away, pretending not to have seen him. Remus sighed before following Sirius to an empty desk.

Remus could barely pay attention to his own potion, constantly glancing at Snape, until Sirius got annoyed and commented that he would end up just like Pettigrew. It was not long before class ended, and Remus quickly got up to catch Snape, but the other boy practically ran out of the room, and when he tried to follow him, Sirius held him to finish the potion before they left.

 

Remus tried several times to talk to Snape during this week, but the other had decided to avoid him and ignore him whenever he showed up, and was still always sitting with Lily or somebody else in the potion classes - even using the marauder's map to find him alone, the other boy managed to avoid the conversation. In the last class he even decided to sit with _Pettigrew_ instead of him! Lupin was getting angrier over time... he could not handle this teen drama... _but you're a teenager again, remember?_

The Marauders were in the great hall and James was sighing over the looks Evans had given him in DADA's class, but Remus was completely distracted and disappointed, for he had been ignored once more-but at least he had made a decision about Dumbledore's request, since he had plenty of time to think about it - and then was surprised when Pettigrew decided to comment on Snape's new appearance.

"He could! you know, Snape is very good at potions... and he looks pretty good now..." Pettigrew commented in a low voice as if trying to justify himself. Remus turned to face him, he had not paid attention to the rest of the conversation. Sirius and James laughed as the rat turned red.

"What are you talking about?" Remus asked, trying to leave the irritation away from his voice, his possessive wolf side wanting to grunt.

"Your head is in the moon today, eh, Moony?" Sirius laughed and James followed. "Our little friend has a crush on Snivellus." Remus turned to face Pettigrew, and by the way the boy turned pale, his face must have been showing exactly what he was feeling about the discovery "He wants Snape to teach him potions".

"Oh?" He said and the mouse swallowed, but his threatening tone went unnoticed by the other two. "You should call him for a date, Pettigrew," he said, surprising Peter and delighting himself in imagining Severus cursing the boy in disgust. Sirius and James did not stop laughing.

"Just imagine." Sirius was breathless from laughing. "Would you use a ladder to reach him, Wormtail? what a pair!".

"M-Maybe I will!" Pettigrew said and looked at Remus with as much courage as he could, Lupin suddenly slammed his hands on the table and stood up in anger, leaving the great hall without noticing that he had caught the attention of half the room, or that his friends were silent staring at him in confusion.

Without even thinking about where he was going, Remus found himself in front of the headmaster's office and the gargoyle automatically opened for him as he approached, showing that Dumbledore had been clearly waiting for his visit. He climbed the circular stairs and knocked lightly on the door, listening to the gentle voice of the headmaster telling him to enter. Remus came in and was surprised to see Professor McGonagall staring at the man with a defiant look.

"We'll discuss it later, Minerva." Dumbledore dismissed her calmly, and the Professor snorted at him before walking to the exit, greeting Remus as she passed by "Come in, Mr. Lupin, I think we have a lot to talk about... lemon drop?" He offered and Remus refused it, he knew he could not hold anything in his stomach at the moment "I hope you had fun with that party in the Gryffindor tower" He said with a funny twinkle in his eyes and the boy realized that was probably the reason McGonagall was there, there were probably complaints "So how can I help?"

"It's about your request" The student answered and the headmaster's face became serious and slightly sad.

"I know it's a very difficult thing to do an-..."

"I agree to stay here," Remus interrupted sharply, his anger at Pettigrew blinding him and Dumbledore stared in surprise before smiling again. Dumbledore had used legilimency to find out why Remus had said so much bullshit near the full moon and found out about the future, so in the infirmary after that he had told the werewolf that he _could_ send him back to his original time with some research, but asked him to stay and try to change the unfortunate fate of so many people.

"I'm grateful," he said softly, but looked sad. "And I apologize for putting that weight on your shoulders." Remus nodded and said nothing else, he knew he was not doing it for a greater good, but he was being selfish just like Dumbledore asking him to stay "Would you like to talk more?"

"No"

"Well, say hi to Severus for me." The man said with a gentle smile and Remus could not help blushing. "He's talking to Professor Slughorn in the dungeons, I thought you would want to know." Remus did not know how Dumbledore knew, but decided to just leave.

 

Severus was finally satisfied with the extra work he had asked for Slughorn and went to deliver it, even with the professor saying he did not need extra potions works, he liked to keep himself busy and to brew. Lily had many homework assignments to finish and decided not to join him, but said to meet her in the library when he finished talking to Slughorn.

The Slytherin said goodbye to the teacher as the next class began to enter the classroom, not wanting to disturb or stay close to other students more than necessary.

Leaving the classroom, he walked past a broom closet - in which he used to hide from the Marauders before _Remus_... he did not want to remember Lupin or the idiocy he'd done, Snape just spoiled everything like always. One hopeful part of him tried to argue that Lupin had reciprocated the kiss in a very lively way, but he knew it was not possible... or probably it was the alcohol's fault.

Suddenly, all his thoughts vanished as he was pulled into the closet by someone, they were holding him and putting their hand in his mouth, preventing him from screaming or saying anything. The first thing he thought was that it was one of the marauders, his breathing getting faster and more nervous.

"Don't scream." Remus's breath rumbled over his neck as he said it and Severus felt himself relax unconsciously. "We need to talk." He said and the Slytherin felt the other boy's breathing again, making him shiver slightly.

Lupin released him slowly as if he thought Severus would run as soon as he was released- and he would not be wrong to think so, for what Snape most wanted at the moment was to run or to disappear - Lupin, however, continued to hold Snape's wrist to ensure that he would not run away. Severus realized that he was panting because of the adrenaline and... other reasons.

"Did you had to kidnap me to talk to me?" Snape asked sarcastically, turning to face the other boy, who was way too close because of the little space.

"If you were not avoiding me I would not have done that," Remus replied and Snape turned away, even though he could not see the other's face because of the darkness in there. "Why are you avoiding me?"

Severus did not answer, what would he say, anyway? _I discovered that I like you and, with the help of alcohol and a stupid dare, I had the courage to act and now I can not look in your face without feeling completely humiliated, mainly because you're probably going to be disgusted with me and the marauders will make my life hell again..._

"I did something?" Lupin looked worried for a moment. "I mean, I know I did and I didn't even know if you wanted to, I probably should not have taken advantage, but you..." it was Severus's turn to be confused.

"What are you talking about?" He asked with a frown.

"Having kissed you that way." Lupin spoke as if he was to blame, and Snape tried to understand how the hell he came to that conclusion.

"What are you talking about?" Severus asked again, and when Lupin opened his mouth to respond, the Slytherin continued, "You did nothing, _I_ kissed you because of..." He paused, blushing as he realized what he had just said "...I want to say I'm sorry before you..." Snape was interrupted by Lupin's lips, surprising himself.

The Slytherin almost melted and gave in, but pushed the Gryffindor away when he tried to deepen the kiss. He was panting with nervousness, his face hot and flushed as he gripped Lupin's shoulders to make sure he would not approach him again.

"What..."

"Then we're even now," Lupin said with a smile that vanished as he saw the other boy's face, which he was almost sure had tears in his eyes, but the closet was too dark to really tell "Severus...". 

" _Don't_ call me that," he said, looking at the floor "Why did you do that? Is it some kind of prank?"

"What? No!" Remus said and tried to approach again, but Severus pushed him again, still not looking him in the eye and talking again before the werewolf could say anything.

"Black and Potter are waiting to see my reaction?" He asked with an unhappy laugh. "How _funny_." Remus was sad to see that Snape did not trust anyone at such a young age, but he was not as patient as he was supposed to be, so he caught the Slytherin's chin and made him look at him.

"Let me prove it to you," Lupin said and tried to bring their faces closer together, but Snape used his distraction to get out of the closet and into the Slytherin common room before he could reach him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for taking so long, sorry for the bad english and sorry for the short chapter.

The classes had already been over for some time and Remus had not seen Snape in any of them, so he could not even explain himself to the Slytherin or apologize. Remus really hated teenage problems - which could be solved so quickly if they were not so dramatic - especially after two damn wars. Remus and Sirius were playing Wizard's chess in the common room while James tried to finish his extremely late homework. Remus was relieved that Pettigrew was not there, for he could not bear to see his face.

Remus was not paying full attention to the game, so he did not complain when Sirius won for the third time in a row and lazily stretched out on the couch where they stood, placing his legs on the werewolf's thighs. James would ask him something from time to time and he would respond with little encouragement to the friend who wrote down his answers.

The common room was quiet and calm, with some Gryffindors talking, others taking care of their works, but everyone was surprised when Lily Evans entered furiously in the place.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Lily yelled angrily, tossing her backpack into the boys on the couch, hitting Sirius, who stared at her in complete confusion. She also turned to James as if expecting an answer... none of the three said anything and the rest of the Gryffindors looked at the scene curiously, "Get out of here!" she shouted at them and then only she and the marauders were left in the common room.

"Huh... what are you talking about?" James asked and Lily seemed to have got even angrier, approaching to retrieve her backpack - Sirius flinched - and approaching Potter, who was her target this time. "Why did you do that ?!" He asked, holding the girl's backpack, she was trying to pull it to hit him again.

"You know very well, you idiots," she said, and when neither of them really seemed to notice, she decided to say, "What did you do to Severus this time? I really thought you were maturing, but you're still assholes!"

"Oi, oi, oi!" James grumbled, frowning. "We did not do anything to Sniv-Snape! What was the lie he told you, the little shit?"

"He did not tell me anything!" she said, "He does not leave the common room and he only does that when you decide to do something stupid."

"But we did not even come close to him," Sirius commented again and she did not seem calmer. She then turned her accusatory gaze to Remus, who had remained strangely quiet, he looked away.

"Can I talk to you, Lupin?" Lily asked and folded her arms, this time looking more disappointed than irritated. He nodded and followed her out of the common room, ignoring the confused stares of the other two. He followed her into the empty first classroom she'd found. "What did you do?" She pushed him away.

"Why do you think...?"

"Because of your guilty face, now tell me" She said and he sighed.

"I... kissed him" He replied after a long pause and she raised her eyebrow, looking completely confused now and he found himself blushing as she stared at him.

"But... it does not make sense." Lily seemed to speak more to herself than to Lupin. He thought she was talking about his liking for Snape, but she said " _He_ likes you, why he would be... what else did you do?" she asked seriously.

"N-Nothing..." She raised an eyebrow at him "He kissed me first and I... uh... I returned... a second time?" He justified himself and realized how idiotic he looked, but could not bear the way the girl was looking at him. "Does he really like me?" He felt so childish asking this, but there was still a part of him that thought that all had happened because of the alcohol.

"You're an idiot," Lily said exasperated. "Look, I don't know why you decided to suddenly start talking to him in the last month, but he seemed more alive after that! Why do you think he started looking after his appearance?!" She said, still irritated and then she seemed to be enraged again. "Listen, if this is some prank, I don't even know what I'll do with you and the other three idiots." Lily took a deep breath before continuing, a little calmer. "And about him liking you, he commented to me about feeling safe around you and about how charming your scars were." She laughed lightly at Lupin's face, for his scars were definitely something he hated about his own appearance "And I dared him to kiss the person he liked the day of the party... taking into account your comment about him having kissed you first, I imagine he complied."

Remus was speechless for a long moment and Lily did not mind keeping him company while he had a crisis of confusion and tried to organize his thoughts. He really was an idiot.

"Severus doesn't open up with me often, so I don't know what he's feeling now," she commented after several minutes in silence, both sitting against the wall as they stared at nothing and Lupin drowned in his own thoughts "But my guess is that he fear his own feelings... I don't think it's fair to tell you about personal things he's told me, but Severus was too hurt to trust easily... especially someone who... "She paused, realizing it would be rude, but Remus completed for her.

"Who bullied him".

"You didn't..." She would be optimistic, but Remus interrupted her.

"Being quiet is the same as participating.".

"Then I'm one too" Lily said quietly, and they smiled sadly at each other.

 

Severus decided not to leave his own dormitory for a few days, mulling over what had happened and trying to convince his hopeful part that it was all a joke and that he should know better after nearly six years of falling dumbly in all the marauders traps.

After nearly a week locked up in his own room, he finally returned to the classes and lost several Slytherin points of various teachers because of his unexplained absence and his colleagues started to look even angrier at him after that, some always commented on something, but he had been good at ignoring.

He still avoided classes with the Gryffindors most of the time because he knew he would be a joke when he got there, he could already imagine Black and Potter making kissing sounds to embarrass him while Lupin watched as a lamppost, just as the old times. Maybe he would even laugh this time, since he was the main star of the prank... that also made him not be able to talk to Lily, but the last thing he wanted at the moment was the girl's optimism.

It was time for the transfiguration class with Slytherin and Gryffindor, so he decided to simply spend his time in the library because he knew the marauders would be busy in class to go after him. He took some books and decided to do his late homework, sitting by the window and enjoying the silence.

A few hours passed without him torturing himself with his memories, he could almost pretend that everything was normal until someone sat at the table in front of him, which startled him and he even thought it would be Lupin, but arched his eyebrow when he saw Peter Pettigrew staring at him with a smile... Snape turned to look for the other marauders, who would surely be ready to attack him, startling again when the other boy began to speak.

"So, er... Severus... can I call you Severus?" Pettigrew asked, he seemed to try to sound confident, but he was failing miserably.

"No".

"Oh, um..." Pettigrew was acting stranger than he normally was, not that Snape knew him - or wanted to know "It's just... I wanted to ask for your help in potions...".

Severus closed his eyes, it seemed like a scene repeating itself, it could not be coincidental that he tried to approach him in the same way that Lupin did, but that would be very stupid.

"Where are your friends?" He asked quietly, still looking at any movement at his side.

"What?... Okay, uh... I didn't want to ask for help, I wanted..." Pettigrew blushed and Snape raised his eyebrow again, glancing around to look for the other marauders _again_ "Invite you on a date!" .

Snape almost laughed out loud.

"You must be kidding," Snape said and the other boy blushed even more. "Tell your little cretin friends that this trick will not work" before the other answered, he looked him up and down and raised an eyebrow and gave a cruel smile "And I'm not that desperate." He stood up and started walking away to the exit. This prank was getting too old for him... it was even ridiculous. He grunted as he saw Lupin entering the library with a paper in his hand, which he slipped into the robes as soon as he saw him.

He kept walking toward the exit, planning to ignore him, but the other followed him out... how he hated Griffindor stubbornness.

"Severus, I...".

"I told you not to call me that," he said irritably.

"Sorry," Remus said, still following him "I wanted to talk to you and apologize for everything."

Snape scoffed.

"Seriously." Lupin stepped in front of him and he tried to divert, but the other stepped in front of him again. Snape cursed himself mentally, he should have seen that the class was over and gone back to his dorm.

"Leave me alone," Severus said and tried to push past him.

"Not until you listen to me," Remus said, and Snape took a deep breath, seriously thinking of just going away, but folded his arms and waited for the lie. Lupin sighed relieved "I want to apologize for everything...".

"Yeah, you already..."

"For hiding what James and Sirius did to you, for ignoring their behavior and never doing anything before." He said seriously and Snape was more than a little surprised, he thought he was going to talk about the kiss... and as if reading his mind Lupin continued, "But I'm not going to apologize for the kiss, because no matter what you think of me, I do not regret it."

Snape felt his face warm and lowered his head, not wanting the other to see that his words affected him in any way. He wanted so badly to believe in what he was saying, but then he remembered that just a few minutes ago, his colleague Pettigrew tried to fool him in the same way, which made him angry again - but his face no less flushed.

"You finished?" He asked "Pettigrew also tried this today, who will be next?" Snape raised his eyebrow, looking at the confusion on Lupin's face. "Black has more chance than Potter if you need to know for the next try" He spoke sarcastically before moving away, leaving the Gryffindor confused in the middle of the hallway.


	9. Chapter 9

It was no surprise that Snape was not in the great hall at supper time... not that Remus knew what he would say - or if he would say anything at all - to him if he were. He sighed, barely paid attention to class, his friends or touched his food. He felt like an idiot and had no idea what to do, even with Pettigrew, who for some miraculous reason had had the courage to talk to Snape alone.

He tried to keep his face impassive as he saw the marauders coming. Sirius sat down next to him and quickly began to serve himself. James and Pettigrew sat on the opposite side, James looked annoyed, but Pettigrew - if Remus wasn't mistaken - flashed him a dubious smile that made Remus want to choke Pettigrew with all the food of the great hall.

Remus had not noticed the strength with which he had been holding his cutlery until Sirius had joked about it. He dropped the cutlery and took a deep breath as he watched his friends chat, James' mood seemed to improve with each and every joke of Sirius.

"I called Snape for a date," Peter said suddenly. Sirius dropped his food as James choked on the pumpkin juice, coughing painfully. Remus stared at the rat and tried not to look as angry as he was feeling, ignoring the burning feeling in his chest. He didn't understand why he felt so possessive of someone who he didn't even have some kind of relationship... - _yet_ , a part of him added.

"What?!" James snapped as soon as he could breathe again, his robes and chin were dirty with juice "It's because of _you_ that Evans is angry with us?!" He asked angrily and Remus loved seeing the rat's face.

"N-no!" He said quickly, jerkily moving away from James "I didn't even know she was...".

"What the hell did you do to him?!" James asked, raising the tone of his voice and drawing the attention of the closest students. Remus noticed that all this bad mood of him must've been because of this, after all, Lily had finally paid attention to him "I swear that if you touch a single hair of Snivellus, I'll rip off your tail and make you swallow it!"

Looking at Sirius and hoping he would calm James - because he didn't really want to - Remus was surprised to see him completely confused. Sirius turned to face Remus and seemed to think of something with much concentration, didn't even seem to notice the fight. He seemed to try to solve a very complicated puzzle in his head.

"James," Remus called and his friend turned to him, noting that he was making a scene and then forcing himself to calm down. Pettigrew was pale.

James calmed down after a while and Pettigrew managed to explain himself rather hard, staying quiet for the rest of the dinner, because James was way too angry at him. Remus was cruelly glad to see Pettigrew's taunting backfired to him.

Remus could see Sirius staring at him and Pettigrew momentarily, until he seemed to come to himself and made some jokes to make the mood less aggressive. James left the great hall early to talk to Lily using the marauder's map while the other three returned to the Gryffindor tower with an uncomfortable silence.

 

It seemed to have become Remus's routine to look for Snape with the marauder's map, but to be ignored whenever he tried to talk to the other boy. He was spending less and less time with his friends, but he could not bring himself to care... he had begun to feel impatient and started to think that perhaps the full moon was getting near again.

Lily tried to help him the way she could, but nothing seemed to work. Remus had to admit that Snape was quite stubborn, both teenager  _and_ adult.

Snape, at least, had stopped trying to avoid him at all costs, since he was present at Slughorn's class the next day. Sirius and James sat down together and Pettigrew sat down at an empty table - he seemed negatively anxious to imagine Remus being his partner, but Lupin approached the table Lily and Snape shared. He did not have to say anything, and the girl gave him a brief smile before rising, giving the place to the werewolf and ignoring Snape's angry glare at her.

Lupin sat down beside the Slytherin, who stared up at him with an arched eyebrow after pulling away slightly.

"What you want?" He asked irritably.

"We still need to talk and I still need a partner in potions," Remus commented, turning to Snape, who was looking at the professor and pretending not to see the Gryffindor.

"There are several other students to be your partners," Snape said, frowning. "You didn't have to kick Lily out just for the sake of annoying me."

"I did _not_ kick her out" He said, offended "She left of her own free will. You know, I think she also wants you to talk to me" Snape didn't say anything "And none of the other students are you".

"Oh, shut the fuck up," Severus said angrily, not noticing that he had spoken loudly until some students and the professor were staring at them. He lowered his head as Slughorn approached.

"Mr. Snape!" Slughorn scolded the boy "Detention tonight, scrubbing cauldrons".

"I provoked him, Professor," Remus said, trying to get Snape out of detention.

"All right, then." Slughorn took a deep breath. "Detention for you too, Mr. Lupin. You two turn up after the last clas," he ordered before turning his attention to the class, who whispered and laughed at them.

Snape looked furious, barely looking at the Gryffindor during the class, but he would glare at him when he picked up the wrong ingredient - and that ended up helping Remus in his own potion - Remus even wondered why he cared to 'teach' him the potion if he was so angry at him, but the other was already too angry with him enough and he did not want to make things worse, so he decided not to ask.

"What are you doing?" Severus held Remus's hand suddenly. He had taken an ingredient and was about to put it in the cauldron. Remus looked at his book of potions, looking for the error he was about to make, but could not find. Snape rolled his eyes. "If you put this, the effects of the potion may be contrary or even too strong depending on the amount." The Slytherin explained slowly, as if teaching a small stupid child.

"Oh." Remus looked at the book again and saw that it was wrong indeed, the ingredients were _very_ similar, turning his attention to the cauldron, Lupin noticed that Severus was still holding his hand and the other boy also noticed, abruptly releasing it and frowning again before turning to cut his own ingredients "Thank you."

"I didn't do it for you," he replied dryly. "You're my ' _partner_ ,' I don't want a low grade because of your stupidity." Snape didn't turn to look at him or help him after that.

At the end of class, Snape passed Lupin with an angry glance, making it clear that he blamed him and was very angry about the detention - and it was his fault. And Remus sighed, almost bumping into James as he turned. James had a confused but amused grin on his face as he grabbed Remus' arms, staring into his eyes and frantically asking what he had said to make Snape scream in the classroom.

Remus simply ignored the questions and moved on to the next class... and he had to ignore the strange looks of Pettigrew, James and Sirius tried at all costs to find out what he had said to Snape.

The day passed too quickly for Remus's taste, he grew more and more nervous with the arrival of the detention. On one hand, it was good because Snape would basically _have_ to listen to him, but bad because Snape would be extremely annoyed to be in this situation because of him. Remus wanted to growl and wondered again if the full moon was coming again - he had not been paying any attention in the days or the moons.

Arriving in the dungeons, Remus took a deep breath before entering and was not at all surprised to see Snape talking to Slughorn who beckoned to Lupin as soon as he saw him come in and Snape's face twitched in a grimace.

Slughorn approached him and gave him light pats on the back.

"I'm glad you both are here, I want you to scrub these cauldrons _without_ magic and do not leave until the last one is clean." He said, "Oh, and I hope you learn not to argue in class again, boys." Slughorn made a scene of pretending to look at his wristwatch and groaned, "I have more business to attend to, but if you need me, you know where my office is. Do not break anything," He said before moving away to his chambers.

Snape gave Remus an angry look before he began to clean. Remus approached and took the cauldron beside the boy, who glared at him again, but said nothing. After a few minutes in an embarrassing silence and several clean cauldrons, Remus could not stand the silence anymore.

"I'm sorry," Remus said without looking up from the cauldron.

"What for this time?" Snape asked sarcastically.

"Detention".

"Maybe now you'll stop being an idiot," Snape said and Remus smiled.

"Why was I an idiot this time?" He asked and the Slytherin dropped his own cauldron.

"You're stalking me! What the hell do you want? haven't you ' _pranked'_ me enough?!" He asked and turned to rub the cauldron again, his expression showing that he had regretted saying anything.

"I told you it's not a prank," Remus replied quietly and Snape scoffed "I'm serious".

"Look, I want to finish this detention and go away, so can you shut up?" Snape said and Remus sighed again.

"How can I prove to you that what I say is true?"

"Getting me in a damn detention was not a good start" Severus said, putting away the cauldron he'd finished cleaning.

"It wasn't my fault if you decided to scream in class"

"I screamed because..." He had raised his voice again, and taking a brief glance at the closed door of Slughorn's office, he lowered his voice again, flushing slightly "Because you keep saying these strange things and trying to make a fool of me I told you to stop it. "

"And I already said that I'm not trying to make a fool of you," Remus said, finishing his own cauldron and taking another to start again. "You're just too stubborn."

" _I_ am stubborn?" Snape looked incredulous for a moment, "I'm not the one chasing another student around the school".

Remus could not help a slight laugh.

"I'm sorry for that too, then" he said and Snape grunted.

"If you say sorry one more time you're going to have to clean everything all by yourself and I'll poison your next potion!" He spoke angrily and Remus smiled, raising his arms in surrender and _almost_ apologizing again.

A few more quiet minutes passed, but the silence was no longer as heavy and embarrassing as before, Remus decided that he definitely did _not_ like the silence at all, even though Snape seemed to love it, for he seemed lost in thought, his expression had lost his temper and he seemed even relaxed... Remus almost could not stop staring, but Severus noticed and he turned his face quickly, not seeing  the way the other's face had flushed.

"What are you going to do when you leave Hogwarts?" Lupin asked out of the blue, and as he looked at Snape, he realized that he tensed and after a moment he even thought he would not be answered.

"Not that it's any of your business, but... I still don't know." He replied hesitantly... Remus figured he was in conflict... Lucius should have put several things in his head in favor of Voldemort.

"And what do you _want_ to do?" Remus stopped rubbing the cauldron and turned to Snape, who had his head down.

"Maybe a professor," He said after a long pause. Lupin raised an eyebrow at the Slytherin. He definitely did _not_ expect this answer, but he thought about it... the adult Snape was hated by the Gryffindors - considering Harry and his friends opinions of the man - but idolized by the Slytherins, and that was certainly a good thing in his work as a spy of Dumbledore - and Voldemort - for the Death Eaters could turn against him for _any_ reason. It made sense to be a bad teacher for the students of the 'light side', but what would he be like if neither Voldemort nor Dumbledore were on his back? would he have been a good teacher? that he was extremely capable and intelligent was nothing new. Remus would really like to see that.

"Would you teach potions?" Remus could not avoid the question and Snape snorted.

"That's not the only thing I'm good at" He said slightly offended "DADA" Remus smiled.

"Me too," he said, remembering the year he taught Harry. A few more minutes passed in a comfortable silence.

"Why did Pettigrew come to talk to me?" Snape asked, surprising Remus, who was annoyed at the mention of the other boy.

"Well, he thinks you're handsome and he's mad at me." Remus simply replied, and Snape only looked more confused.

"What do you have to do with it?"

"He's trying to annoy me because he knows I like you," he replied and Snape opened his mouth, blushing, but Remus spoke before him. "If you want to be a professor, why don't you do that?" Remus already knew the answer.

"It's none of your business," he answered defensively, and the way he ran his hand over his left arm didn't go unnoticed. Remus could not help it and held the other boy's arm in a gentle yet firm grip, lifting his sleeve to see Snape's pale, clean skin... _unmarked_. Remus sighed in relief and Severus pulled his arm sharply, pulling away "What are you...?"

"Don't join the dark lord," Remus said, and Severus's face grew angrier.

"You all think you know what I'm going to do... you think..." He paused as Lupin approached and put both hands on his face. Snape wanted to push him, but he could not... Remus put his forehead against his and Severus shivered as he felt his breathing so close. He could feel his face warm.

"Don't do what _they_ want you to do. You have a choice, Severus." Remus said and Snape closed his eyes. "I really like you," the Slytherin tried to look away, but Remus held him "What do I need to do to make you believe?" He asked again.

The Slytherin was red and breathing fast because of the proximity, he seemed nervous. He looked down at his own feet and was silent for a long moment, Remus opened his mouth to speak, but Snape said something before him.

"Tell your friends," he said, his voice low and shaky, he looked like he was waiting for Lupin to laugh at him "Tell your housemates... if you dare to destroy your reputation like that..." He gave an unhappy laugh.

Remus lifted the other boy's face, who kept his eyes closed, his face flushed, showing that he was too embarrassed to look at him. Lupin approached, and as their breaths mingled and lips nearly touched, the door to Slughorn's office opened and the professor appeared, staring at thescene with a raised eyebrow before clearing his throat.

"Another detention tomorrow, gentlemen."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry bout this D:


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a short chapter cause I didn't want to leave you guys waiting too long, sorry :s  
> I'm out of time lately but I'm really trying.

Remus felt like a teenager, he could not stop smiling all the way to the Gryffindor tower, he could not even feel the pain in his hands - result of rubbing cauldrons so much - he never imagined he would think that, but he could hardly wait for the next day's detention. He wanted to thank Slughorn actually, even though the man was trying to punish them... Remus laughed lightly as he remembered the man's expression when he saw them so close to each other.

The fat lady folded her arms at the sight of him so energetic and raised her eyebrow. She commented on how happy he was and, because of his good humor, he thanked her and had a little fun conversation with her before complimenting her and entering - she didn't even asked for the password. There had very few students in the common room, because it was late and most were probably sleeping. Lily was there when he passed and she smiled a little confused at him. He took the girl's hands and taking her into a brief dance, moving away to the stairs before she began her interrogation, the other Gryffindors looking as confused as girl.

In the bedroom, Sirius was lying on James' bed - it seemed to be his new bed, but it was nothing new, since he always slept where he liked, his bed or not - reading a Quidditch magazine with James, Peter was trying to capture James's snitch, which was flying overhead. Pettigrew quickly became quiet and ran behind Sirius when he saw Remus entering. The werewolf simply went to his own bed and began taking off his robes for the night.

"Gee, what happened in your detention?" Sirius asked with a confused laugh, dropping the magazine and getting up with his elbows to better see his friend.

"Nothing, I mean... I got another detention," he said, still smiling, pausing as he removed his tie. The other marauders exchanged confused glances.

"Is that a reason to smile like that?" It was James's turn to ask, staring at his friend's hands. "Your hands look very sore."

"Oh" Remus then remembered that he had to talk to his friends about Snape, but it was easier said than done, Remus had not yet taken the smile off his face, but he did not know how he would tell his friends... well, he had promised Snape that he would. It was a very stupid and childish concern that made him feel more and more like the age of his body, so he turned around and said normally, because it was better to rip off the band-aid at once "Snape agreed to go out with me,"

A deep Silence settled in place, but the werewolf pretended not to feel the tension. Remus decided to keep changing, not even turning to look at the reaction of his friends - even if he wanted to see Pettigrew's face at the moment so bad.

Sirius started laughing for a pretty long moment, but stopped when noticed that Remus remained quiet.

"It's a joke, right?" Sirius asked, but his friend was silent "Right, Moony?"

"No, I actually like him" He said quietly.

More silence. Remus almost thought they decided to ignore him.

"What he gave you?" Sirius asked in a strangely serious voice and Remus turned around, watching him standing with his wand pointed at him "Potion or spell?" Remus lowered Sirius's wand before answering.

"Nothing, I just decided to stop being such a child and face my feelings," Remus said, putting on his own pajamas.

"It's all good for me," James said suddenly and Remus was surprised, he thought he would be the hardest to convince "As long as you keep him away from Lily, you can shag him all you want!" James shrugged, Sirius looked perplexed.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Sirius said aggressively, "First Wormtail and now Moony, do you really think it's a coincidence?! That disgusting snake is trying something!"

"Don't call him that," Remus said as aggressively as Sirius did and then took a deep breath. "If you did not have so much prejudice with Slytherins, you might see it differently...".

"You've got to be kidding me," Sirius laughed unhappily as if the 'joke' wasn't funny anymore "That's insanity! I don't care if you want to be with a guy, but _him_?!"

"What's the problem with him?" Remus suddenly asked, staring his friend in the eyes. Sirius stared at him for a long moment before deciding to leave the dorm, slamming the door hard. Lupin took a deep breath and saw James and Peter staring at him as if he had grown another head.

" _finite incantatem_!" James said when Remus turned his back and the werewolf rolled his eyes when nothing happened, the other boy looked at him even more confused than before.

"Really?" Remus asked and laid down in his own bed.

"Just to be sure," James replied and shrugged.

 

It was early and there was still plenty of free time until the beginning of the first class, so Snape had decided to stay in the library, which was the only place he felt really comfortable in the castle.

"Severus!" Snape heard Lupin's voice calling out to him and felt slightly irritated by the use of his first name. He thought he was done with this stupid prank, after all, Remus was not going to ruin his reputation to his beloved, stupid friends. He was coming back from the library into the main hall, when the other approached.

"I told you not to call me that," he said when the other boy reached him, following him down the hall. Snape was surprised when Remus suddenly grabbed his hand "What...?"

"We'll date and you still want me to call you _Snape_?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow and a smile, they were standing in the middle of the hallway because Snape had paused, facing Remus, completely confused. Some students passed them staring at their joined hands "What is it?" Remus asked after a moment of being stared in silence "Or you're going to tell me that you prefer pet names?"

Snape pulled his hand back, finally realizing that he was staring, his face heating.

"What is it?" Snape asked just to be sure "What are you doing? What... what?"

"You said that if I told my friends, we...".

"I said I'd believe you." Severus interrupted him with one hand to push him away from his personal space. "I never told you we would date" Lupin stared at him incredulously, his eyes half-lidded as if he was bored.

"Seriously? you're going to create another drama?" Lupin asked.

Snape got slightly irritated.

"And I don't even know if you really told them," Snape said and Remus took a deep breath before holding the other boy's hand again and dragging him toward the great hall, ignoring all the Slytherin's protests. All the students they saw on the way stared at them... Snape could not help but think of the rumors that would spread around the place. Before reaching the great hall, Snape pulled his arm back roughly, " _Okay!_ " He said, because he could not bear to enter the hall and have all the students staring at him. "I believe you, let's get out of here."

Remus decided to let himself be guided by the Slytherin, taking his hand again and not letting him let go of his hand in any moment, and after a few corridors, Snape had given up and simply let him hold his hand. He took the werewolf to one of the most deserted parts of the school, and by the way he looked around, Lupin imagined he did not want them to be heard.

Severus stopped suddenly and Remus bumped into him.

"We need to talk," Snape said nervously.

"I've been trying to talk to you for a long time." He said, "I'm all ears."

"Okay..." Severus ran his hand through his hair, it all seemed like a strange, crazy dream and he had no idea what to do. One part of him said that he should simply surrender his wills, but his rational part knew that he should be careful "What are we?"

"Excuse me?"

"The two of us," Severus repeated exasperatedly, pointing to each of them. "What are we to you?"

"Well, if you like me, and I think you do, we can go out and maybe you'll agree to date me," Remus answered truthfully.

"...And your friends? What if your friends do something...?"

"They won't" he replied and looked slightly annoyed, but not at Snape "Not if I can help it."

"Right..." Severus looked confused and more nervous with each passing second. When Snape started to look like he was going to have a panick attack Remus came over and grabbed his shoulders, making him look into his eyes.

"Calm down." He said, "You're not being forced to anything and I'm not going to force you to do something you don't want to, I'm just telling you that I did what you asked and we can go out together without interference from my friends, would you want to go out with me?" Snape stared at him intensely - he was looking at the oh so beautiful details of the other's face, his scars, his eyes, his _mouth_ \- but Lupin did not know what kind of expression that was until Severus grabbed the front of his robes and kissed him.

They were about the same height and Remus did not take a second to reciprocate. He guided Snape's hands - which were clinging to his robes - to his neck and placed his own hands on the other's hips, drawing him even closer and deepening the kiss. Severus did not seem to know what he was doing, so he was happy to let Remus guide the kiss and show him how to do it.

The two of them split only when they were out of breath and Snape lowered his head, panting. Remus knew he did not want to show his flushed face, but he could see the red at the tips of his ears and could not help but smile.

"I'll take that as a yes," Lupin said and took Snape's hand again... this time he did not pull his hand back.

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking soooooooo long, but I was kinda depressed and couldn't write, I hope you guys understand. Also, I'm sorry for not answering, but I love your comments <3  
> And this is an AU, not canon at all, just a reminder.

Snape was too startled at first, but the marauders were being civilized with him, even though Black sent him angry glances most of the time, and he couldn't help noticing how his life seemed less miserable in recent weeks with Lupin following him all the time. Strangeness became comforting.

And he could admit to himself that he really liked the other boy's company.

But when Lupin tried to hold his hand or do anything else that showed affection in front of other students, Snape always walked away. He still didn't feel ready for it. Lupin seemed to understand his side and he was really grateful for it, even though the Gryffindor seemed hurt by his refusal at times.

Remus was missing classes and Severus was looking for Lily, since Remus had not attended the last Gryffindor-Slytherin class, and he had made notes for him, since they were sitting together most of the time, and as he couldn't deliver it to the Gryffindor common room, Lily would deliver it for him - he wanted to do it as quickly as possible, since he didn't want Lupin to missanything, even though he thought he had enough capacity to keep up with the rest of the class later - he just needed to find her.

The girl didn't seem to be anywhere in the castle, so he decided to take a brief look outside around the lake, where she liked to be with some friends.

He went to the entrance and went out, looking around in search of her long auburn hair. Snape sighed as he didn't find the girl, turning back to the castle and walking in, coming face-to-face with Sirius Black, who was looking at him with his arms crossed.

Snape tensed slightly, but decided to ignore him, walking down the corridor. Surely he would not do anything with him right now, after all, Remus would be mad at him, _right_? Severus's mind seemed to feed him with bad thoughts about what might happen - _what if Lupin didn't really care?_ \- he couldn't help frowning as he passed Black, who pulled his arm roughly.

Neither of them turned to face each other, even as Severus's breathing became visibly accelerated.

"How long do you think it will last, Snivellus?" Black asked, pure hatred in his voice. Snape ignored him. "You think you're safe while using and manipulating Remus?" He gave a humorless laugh and turned his face to him. "As soon as he comes back to his senses, you'll pay for having messed with my friend." Sirius gave a painful squeeze on Snape's arm and he tried not to flinch.

"Let me go," he said quietly, and Black ignored him, turning his attention to the notes he had on his hands as he noticed Remus's name on them. He pulled the notes from Severus' hands and released him abruptly, causing him to lose his balance briefly. Snape turned quickly and pointed his wand at the Gryffindor, who didn't even seem to notice "Give it back!".

"This is for Remus," he said as he examined the papers. He knew that Remus was the best student in the whole school regarding grades, with Severus coming in second. A cruel idea, but without victims, appeared in his mind. Sirius stared at Snape's wand and smirked before tearing the notes. Severus gasped "It's a shame you want so badly to be the best student that you'd prejudice Remus, Severus, even after all he did for you." Snape was red with anger and then Sirius quickly burned the papers with his wand.

"You ... moron, troglodyte, disgusting, arrogant!" Snape had spoken the first things that came into his mind and approached the Gryffindor with his wand in hand, hex at the tip of his tongue, but he stopped a few paces from Sirius, noting that he was very still and did not seem to want to fight back if he really attacked.

"Come on, Snivellus." Black laughed. "Attack me and show Remus what you really are, you  filthy snake."

Snape lowered his wand, his body trembling, and his eyes were wilting with tears because of the anger he was feeling at the moment, but he took a deep breath and turned away, deciding to redo his notes.

 

A few days later, the day after the full moon - which Remus had decided to spend alone again - he felt exhausted and destroyed, as he always felt after a transformation. He had self-inflicted wounds and was grateful when Madam Pomfrey offered him a potion and healed most of them, but he left the infirmary soon after, ignoring her orders that he should rest if he wanted the wounds to heal properly.

He already had many scars, what difference would make some more?

Remus ignored the glances of the few students who were awake so early while he walked to the griffindor tower. He knew he looked deplorable at the moment, he was probably pale, had dark circles under his eyes and looked much older than he was. He was heading for the Gryffindor tower without even paying attention on the way and already regretting the decision not to obey the mediwitch.

Later that same day, he decided to go to class after some rest in the dorm. James looked very good-humored, probably something to do with Lily, and they talked for a while before he went to class. He was dressing his robes when Sirius entered the bedroom, giving him a confused look.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the infirmary?" He asked, it was the first time he had spoken to Remus in days.

"I decided to stay in the dorm," Remus commented.

"You're not thinking about going to class in this state, are you?" Sirius asked, visibly irritated.

"I'm fine, I just..."

"You're going to stay and rest, Moony," Sirius said seriously. "Or do you prefer me to call Prongs to help me get you into bed?" Remus could not help the slight laugh.

"I'm fine, I'm serious."

"No, I'm Sirius, and you are going back to bed" Sirius said, giving no room for argument. Remus ignored the joke, sighed and he did not want Sirius to ignore him again, so he nodded, but his friend just left the bedroom when Remus was lying down.

 

It was a class of history of magic, Peter and Sirius arrived earlier than usual and, finding Snape sitting alone in one of the desks, Sirius made Peter approach and sit down next to the Slytherin, who stared at him with visible irritation and confusion before attempting to get up. Peter grabbed his arm and pulled him back onto the seat, forcing him to stand beside him - Snape felt like cursing him with an unforgiveble at that moment. Soon the room was full and Snape had nowhere else to sit, deciding to ignore the Gryffindor instead of being annoyed.

Pettigrew looked around after a few minutes of class, and noticing most of the students completely bored, sleeping, or talking to each other, he exchanged glances with Sirius and approached lightly of Snape, who tried to pull away again and was held again.

"If you touch me again, I swear you'll lose your hand" Snape hissed.

Pettigrew swallowed.

"Remember when I asked you out, Snape?" Peter asked after a pause, but the Slytherin's face was a mask and he did not even look at him. "I actually like you, you know? an-and... and I know y-you don't like me back or a-anything, but I... don't think you deserve what Remus is doing to you" This caught the other boy's attention.

"What you mean?" He asked with a frown.

Sirius had worked out this plan to free Remus from the Slytherin's clutches, and Peter soon offered to help, since James was all happy about Lily and did not seem to care. Peter was angry that he had been treated so badly by Moony recently and wanted to take revenge in some way, the fact that Sirius wanted to do something against Snape and that it would affect both was a bonus.

"Where do you think he's going every month?" He asked with false disappointment, "You were just another trophy for him... he's talking to this girl...".

"Doesn't sound like Lupin at all" He said defensively, but he was visibly thinking about it, his mind filling up with bad thoughts about what could happen.

"I know! I never thought Remus would ever do anything like that..." He said and Snape looked confused and hurt, he looked like he didn't want to believe it, but couldn't know if it was true.

"Why would you tell me this? isn't he your friend?" Snape asked "And he _wouldn't_... do that" Snape could not help saying, he knew it was a bait, but he could not help it.

Pettigrew looked around again and then came closer to the other boy, whispering.

"Well, you can always follow him to know the truth, right?" He said quietly and Snape looked really angry for some reason, his hands trembling. Pettigrew grew slightly tense, but the slytherin just got up abruptly and walked out of the classroom while everyone stared at his sudden movement, he closed the door with a loud thud. Sirius came over after a few minutes and sat down where Snape had been sitting, gripping the Wormtail's shoulders and swinging it lightly as he grinned from ear to ear.

"You were amazing! I didn't know you could act" Sirius said and Peter only smiled at him.

"You think it'll work?" He asked, looking around one more time as if Snape or Remus would appear out of nowhere.

"Yes." Sirius knew that what he was doing was childish and cruel, but he also knew that it was the best for Remus. He would be thanked later.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> someone still reads this? sorry about the bad english and for the short chapter, I hope y'all still enjoyed Idk


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